Scientific Wizard Agency
by Yuki Neco
Summary: Sakura and Li are college students running a detective agency with their magic. One day, a student Lumina Allison asked them to investigate her case. During the investigation, someone evil threatened them for Lumina's father's research in physics. They have to identify the attacker and protect the research from the evil.
1. Prologue

**Preface**

I thought up of the original plot of this fanfic a long time ago—even before Cardcaptors started out. I had for a long time been thinking if I can revise the original plot into a CC fanfiction. At first, I tried to convert the heroine Lumina Allision into Sakura; however, Lumina is pretty but kind of spoiled girl, impossible to be converted to Sakura. Instead, I decided to convert other supporting characters into Sakura and Li. Plus, maybe it's some challenge to collaborate the magic stuff and theoretical science stuff.

Plus, sorry to the Cardcaptors haters—this fanfiction wirtten with the character names as Cardcaptors. So Sakura Kinomoto is referred to as Sakura Avalon, and Li Syaoran as Li Showron.

Well, anyway, please read it and review it, thanks.

**Scientific Wizard Agency**

**Prologue**

Twenty-year old college student, Lumina Allison, was thinking about strange things which had been happening around those days, as she sighed, "Weird things have just been happening around me. I don't know whether they are all related or just by a coincidence." The pretty girl with light-straight blond long hair is a sophomore student majoring in physics at Freedstone University. A few weeks earlier, the students had a new quantum mechanics instructor in place of the old professor now in the hospital. The substitute instructor happened to be the young physicist who had received his Ph.D. at Lumina's father's laboratory at Krudeland University. At almost the same time, her father e-mailed Lumina that he was planning to seclude himself away to finish his important paper. "That's typical. Dad hides away, without telling me and Mom about where he goes, every time he's busy with finishing his paper or book he's writing," Lumina laughed kind of nervously to remember the e-mail sent by her father. But the strangest thing of all is—I've been sensing someone watching me these days, Lumina said to herself. _I wonder who and what for?_

_What if some good-looking guy is watching me without having courage to confess his feelings? Wow, that might be exciting. Uh, wait... on the contrary, it might just be that some freak is stalking and trying to annoy me. That is a creepy thing._ Lumina's mind was staggering in such self-centered feelings.

_I don't think it's just my imagination_, she thought. In another nights recently, she remembered, when she had opened the window of her apartment to check outside, she found a car parking below the window just started apart from the building. Although it was too dark outside to identify the car, she thought she saw the same car acting suspiciously. _To think over those things, I've been followed and watched by someone, that's for sure._

At that time, the girl with blond hair remembered one of her friends had told her about the detective agency run by two college students. "Uh, yes. Madison Taylor told me to visit the two guys at Green Hills University, when I'm in trouble. In her story, they have found solutions to some troubles in the university based on their investigations. I guess I'll get some more information from Madison."


	2. Chapter 1: Lumina in Trouble

Sorry for Cardcaptors haters:

This fanfiction is written with the character names as Cardcaptors. So Sakura Kinomoto is referred to as Sakura Avalon, and Li Syaoran as Li Showron.

**Scientific Wizard Agency**

**Chapter 1: Luminar in Trouble**

On that day, Lumina Allison was walking to Dr. Ken Matthews' office in Freedstone University. The blond-haired sophomore student is about five feet three inches tall, with her hair ran straightly down to the waist. She was neatly dressed in a light green one-piece dress and matching moss green vest. A couple of hours before, she had attended Matthews' quantum mechanics class for sophomore students. When the class was over, the instructor told her to come by his office at 4:00 p.m., as he has something to tell her. Ken Matthews was the young substitute instructor of quantum mechanics class, who had been instructed by Lumina's father. Walking in the corridor toward the substitute instructor's office, she was wondering what he was going to say. _I wonder what he's going to tell me. Is it something he can't tell when anyone is around? It can't be that he wants to ask me for going out for a date_, the blond-haired girl smirked sheepishly. While thinking things like that, she found Dr. Matthews' office. She knocked on the door, and there was a reply for her to come in with a young man's comfortable voice.

She found Ken Matthews, the young instructor, sitting at the desk at the back of the room. He was a tall, good-looking young man, with dark curly hair trimmed at the shoulders.  
"Welcome, Ms. Allison," Ken smiles at her.  
"Uh, hello, Dr. Matthews..."  
Lumina felt a kind of embarrassed to see the handsome young man just in front of her. Trying to find what to say, she spoke to him, "You researched theoretical physics at my father's laboratory, is that right?"  
"Yes, I remember you once visited my laboratory five or six years ago," Ken replied, "I guess you were still a junior high..."  
Lumina complemented, "Still an eighth grader. That was when I visited the college festival." Lumina blushed in response when she remembered that she surely met Ken before, instantly falling in love; as soon as she got home she asked her father about what kind of man Ken was.

"Want iced coffee?" Ken asked Lumina when he stood up, "Late September, but it's still hot outside."  
"Yes, thank you," Lumina replied.  
"Anyway, I called you here today, because I will give one suggestion," Ken started putting the glasses of iced coffee for two of them.  
"Suggestion?" Lumina blinked her eyes.  
"Or maybe, invitation is more appropriate to say," he added. "I heard from Dr. Allison... your father, I mean," he began explaining, "as far as theoretical physics, you were educated before graduating from high school, to the level of graduated-school students. Taking the same lecture with your classmates may be boring to you. That's why I think I should give you a place and time to put yourself into your own research."  
The pretty blond-haired girl opened her eyes with excitement, "Gosh, that's an exciting invitation, Dr. Matthews."  
"I'm glad to see you're pleased with my invitation. But I need time to prepare the place in the laboratory and need to explain my assistants about your case; maybe I need a month," Ken said.  
"That's okay," she smiled.

In the conversation with Ken, Lumina sometimes stirred the iced coffee with the straw, as she enjoyed the clicking sound of the ice cubes. The clicking sound felt to her as if the temperature could be lowered by a couple of degrees.  
"May I ask you this, Ms. Allison?" Dr. Mathews said rolling his eyes.  
"Eh, what is it?" Lumina stopped stirring ice cubes with the straw in the glass.  
"You know, Dr. Allison hides away when he's finishing his work. He takes his assistants for the finishing work, and I had some times gone seclusion with him. But this time, I have no idea where he goes. Do you know where he is this time?" Ken asked slowly.  
"Actually, I don't know. He never told me about his hiding place, sorry," she sheepishly replied.

Walking out of Dr. Matthews' office, Lumina sighed, "So, Dr. Matthews didn't know where Dad was, either..." She walked in the courtyard, as she gasped, "What?" She turned back and sighed, "I definitely thought I was being watched." There were some boys and girls in the courtyard; some are spending time talking, and some are reading books on the benches. When she was looking around to check if there was someone strange, voice came across her, "Hey, Lumina, what's up? Standing here, are you waiting for your boyfriend?" It was a group of her friends who talked to Lumina. She nervously laughed and replied, "It's not that. Uhh, I'm just looking for a nice place to sit and read a book."  
"For your private research on physics, right? To me, research on boys could be much better, see ya," one in the group winked and the group walked off.  
"Hmm, it's just imagination? Ugh!" Lumina bumped into someone. "Oh, I gotta watch where I'm going, anyway," she sighed.  
Another voice came across, "Lumina, good to see you here."  
"What? Madison Taylor, good to see you here is what I just wanted to say."

Madison Taylor was one year older than Lumina; they had been friends since the cinema club in the high school. She had dark gray hair slightly curled at the tip with the length of her waist, her figure is slender with the height of 5 feet 6 inches. She was dressed in a light blue maxi dress with a brown belt around her waist.  
"What's this?" Madison extended her arm and picked up something off Lumina's back.  
"What is it?" Lumina put on a stupid look.  
"It was on your belt," Madison explained.  
It was a piece of paper which read, "MATTER-ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATION, WHERE THE HELL'S HE HIDING?" Lumina's face turned shocked in terror.  
"I was being watched indeed..."  
Madison slowly spoke, "And you just let a man touch your waist."  
"Hey, don't say such a terrible thing, Madison! We don't know if it's a man or a woman," Lumina said in upset. Next minute, she turned angry, "But... if that's true... it's unforgivable!"

Madison picked up her cell phone and made a phone call to someone. In three minutes or four, a white Mercedes came screeching brake to halt. Madison got in the backseat, pulling Lumina inside together. The Mercedes driven by a woman in a black suit and sunglasses started off with a steep acceleration. Lumina and Madison were sitting on the backseat, as they talked about who stuck the paper on Lumina.  
"So, it's true that you're watched as you said before, but what's it about?" Madison pointed the paper she found on Lumina's waist.  
"Annihilation is the terminology of theoretical physics, but... I don't know what that means by WHERE'S HE HIDING," Lumina replied.  
"Isn't it possible that the attacker is related to your father's research?" Madision asked.  
"Nnnh, I don't know... but... ah! Dad is hiding! HE can be my Dad," Lumina exclaimed. "But that's merely one possibility, though," she lowered her tone.

"Or else, you have a big fan," Madison whispered in a mean attitude, "There's no wonder, a pretty girl like you has someone who stalks you around."  
"Very funny..." Lumina stuck her tongue out.

"Okay, Lumina, let's find out who the attacker is," the girl with gray hair grinned.  
"But how?"  
"Don't you remember what I told you the other day? You gotta meet with Sakura Avalon and Li Showron at Green Hills University."


	3. Chapter 2: Lumina's New Allies

Sorry for Cardcaptors haters:

This fanfiction is wirtten with the character names as Cardcaptors. So Sakura Kinomoto is referred to as Sakura Avalon, and Li Syaoran as Li Showron.

**Scientific Wizard Agency**

**Chapter 2: Lumina's New Allies**

Next morning, Lumina came to Green Hills University to visit the detective agency run by two college students. Madison made the appointment for 10:00 in the morning for her, though Madison herself couldn't come along as she had another plan. The student-managed detective agency had their office in one of the school building. She thought it was the evidence the detective agency is officially recognized in the school. The door to the office read "L&S Detective Agency." When she knocked on the door, a boy replied from inside the room and let her in.

Inside the office, she saw a boy wearing a shirt and jeans; the topmost two buttons of his shirt were left undone. He was five feet ten inches tall.  
"You are Lumina Allison, aren't you?" the boy with brown hair and amber eyes asked.  
"Yes, nice to meet you. Madison Taylor is a friend of mine from high school," the girl with blond hair replied.  
"Nice to meet you, too. I'm Li Showron. Our detective agency is run by me and Sakura Avalon. I think Sakura will be here in a few minutes. Uh, sit down, please, Ms. Allison." Li motioned her to sit down on the chair across the desk.  
"Thank you. And it's okay to call me Lumina," she said as she sat down.

"Before getting down to the business, let me explain our policy. If you didn't agree our policy you could cancel," Li started with an official style.  
"Yes, go on," Lumina stared at Li straightly.  
"L&S Detective Agency investigates and uncovers the truth based on scientific evidence. The agency is NOT the police; therefore, we cannot arrest someone if ever the inquiry turned out be a criminal case. In that case, you client can inform the police of the criminal case if necessary. The output from the agency is the truth disclosed by our investigation; we do NOT alter or hide the truth even if it were unfavorable to the clients," Li explained the detective agency's policy with a slow delivery of words, looking at Lumina's reaction.  
"Good-looking though he is, he sounds like being square," she thought while she was listening to him explain the policy.  
"Any question?" he asked when he finished explaining.  
"Uhh... one thing. I understand you are not the police, but... if I were in danger in the course of investigation, would you protect me from the danger?"  
"On that score, don't worry. We two are both skillful to protect you from anything to harm you," Li reassured.

"Sorry I'm late," the door swung open. It was Sakura Avalon, the other owner of the detective agency. Sakura was a pretty girl with honey-brown hair cropped by the collar, and the layer of front top hair was separated right and left running down over the ears. She—about five feet five inches tall—looked like an active girl, who was dressed in a layered style with a gray one-piece dress over jeans.  
"Hey, you're always late, Sakura. It's our client, Ms. Lumina Allison," Li introduced the girl sitting across the desk.  
"Uh, nice to meet you..." Sakura said, as she stammered, "Sorry... I'm a little nervous, you're so pretty... sorry what am I saying."  
"Oh, my!" Lumina smiled, when she secretly felt proud of herself being called pretty.

"We are friends with Madision Taylor from elementary school. You're her friend from high school, aren't you?" Sakura asked.  
"Yes, she told me to see both of you if I'm in trouble," the girl with blond-hair explained.  
"These days, some bad guys annoy innocent girls like you by following, blackmailing, or threatening," Sakura talks in agreement with Lumina's state, "We have sufficient techniques to identify the attacker."  
"What kind of techniques? Is it scientific?" Lumina asked in return, blinking her eyes.  
"As far as the records is concerned," Li explained, "we're capable of fingerprint identification, voice analysis, and such."  
"Not bad," she sang the praise in amazement, "but how? Do you have some instruments for that kind of identification?"  
"That's the region of our secret. Allow me not answering your question," Li took a little bow.

"Tell me, are you Madison's closest friend?" Sakura with interest asked Lumina, "Madison and I go to different school from high school days, so it's very natural Madison and I have different friends. But we were very close friends from elementary school, so I kind of interested in what kind of girl Madison's closest friend is." Sakura is kind of excited.  
"Yes, Madison is always nice to me," the girl with blond hair answered. "Does she like to videotape you?"  
"Yes, she videotapes me at college festival, my birthday, and such," Lumina replied.  
"Well, it's hard to ask you this, but does she sometimes make you some costumes?" Sakura asked sheepishly.  
"Costumes? Yes, she has some times insisted that I try on pink frilly outfit with cat ears," Lumina giggled, "I say no every time she insisted, because I'm embarrassed."  
"Oh, then I should probably have said no," Sakura mumbled kind of sadly. "Madison could be the stalker, or what?" Li jokingly said.

Half an hour later, Lumina and Li are waiting for Sakura to identify the fingerprint on the paper stuck on Lumina the day before. Sakura was working in the next room. She didn't let anyone see her scene of scientific investigation for some reason. Sakura returned to the client, reporting, "There're two person's fingerprints. The one is Madison's and the other is supposed to be yours, Lumina."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lumina opened her eyes with astonishment.  
"There are some possible cases," Li began explaining with a grin, "One possibilitity is that Madison is the one who did it, or else this case is just your made-up..."  
"What are you trying to say?!" Lumina shouted angrily, "Are you saying I just made up this stupid threatening letter myself?! Don't be so stupid!"  
"Hey, hear me out. I know there're other possibilities," Li held up his palms in front of the angry girl. "I mean, the culprit prepared this piece of paper so carefully that they didn't even let their fingerprint marked on it. The culprit knows it's no good if their fingerprint is taken."  
"Yes, Lumina," Sakura nodded her head to Li, "the culprit isn't just making fun, but they are for real. This case may be a dangerous case."  
"Oh, no..."  
"This piece of paper made me decide," Li said in a determined look, "to investigate your case. We're going to protect you."  
"Your explanation made me have faith in you over the investigation," Lumina smiled at Sakura and Li.

After Lumina left their office, Sakura and Li were talking sitting on chairs.  
"Is she all right by herself?" Sakura said.  
"Today she is escorted by Madison's bodyguards. There's no problem."  
"Lumina Allison is pretty. Are you feeling happy to investigate her case, Li?" Sakura smirked teasingly.  
"What are you saying...?" Li blushed.  
"Say, what were you talking with her while I was identifying the fingerprints on the paper? Did you have an enjoyable conversation," Sakura smiled teasingly.  
"It's not that. Lumina's father is that famous Dr. Allison."  
Li coughed a couple of times to clear his throat, and continued, "I mean Lumina's father is a famous physicist. He wrote physics textbooks for high school students and college students, and even biginners' guide books to Einstein's theory."  
"Cool. University professor is the same profession as my father," Sakura whose father is an archeology professor, said in response to the information, "but her father is more famous than mine."  
"Yeah, her father is Michael Allison, you often see him on TV that denies the existence of space alien coming to Earth."  
"Wheeew, that interesting professor is Lumina's father in fact, isn't he," Sakura clapped her hands with excitement.

Sakura Avalon and Li Showron were both junior students at Green Hills University. She studied archeology like her father, and he studies physics. Additionally, they were actually skillful wizards. Sakura was a user of Star Cards she converted from Clow Cards inherited from Clow Reed, the powerful wizard in olden times. Sakura Cards was a deck of cards including 53 magic cards, each of which possesses its own powers. On the other hand, Li was from a wizardry lineage in Hong Kong. He had strong magical powers to handle the magic handed down over generations. At first, he had come to town to capture all the Clow Cards before Sakura could. But in the course of capturing, Sakura and Li became friends, and now Sakura who was named as the master of the cards had converted the Clow Cards into Star Cards. That was when they were 11 years old. There life as Card Captors had been exciting, saving the town from trouble caused by playful Clow Cards. After all the cards were on hand, Sakura and Li thought that they should use their magical powers for people, and then they started up the detective agency. They used their magic for investigation. One example was the fingerprint identification Sakura just carried out in Lumina's case. She used the Thunder Card to electrically charge the fatty secretions left on the paper, which was then sprinkled with toner—the fingerprint image was to be left on the paper. The image was identified by the image processing software programmed by Li's best friend named Zachary.

"You know, Li. We gotta go to Freedstone University to investigate Lumina's circumstances," Sakura suggested.  
"You're right. We have to collect information. I don't know if this matter is related to Lumina's father. It's also possible that Lumina herself attracts trouble before she knows it. For example, some people might bear a grudge on her over a past love affair or something."

At the gate of Freedstone University, Lumina got out of the Mercedes driven by Madison's bodyguard. The blond-haired college student told the bodyguard to dismiss; however, the female bodyguard said she couldn't leave her as Lumina might be in a dangerous state. The twenty-year-old girl reassured the campus was such a safe place that nobody could attack her; then reluctantly, the bodyguard told Lumina that she'll wait for her at the school gate, and to call her whenever something strange happened.

Walking by the bulletin board, Lumina found a message to call her Dr. Matthews' office. "Strange. I visited his office just yesterday, but what does he want from me?" She leaned her head to the right in a puzzled look. Not a clue why she was called, Lumina began walking to Dr. Matthews' office. "Perhaps, Dr. Matthews might have found out information about where my Dad is," she thought to herself. The moment she was about to step in the building of physics department, someone pulled behind the shrub. Lumina screeched. There were two attackers; one held her from behind, and the other was watching around across the shrub.  
"You got something from Dr. Allison, don't you?" The voice from behind her was upset but was of flattened intonation.  
"What are you doing?!"  
"Don't scream, I'm warning."  
Lumina put her right hand into her pocket, as the attacker holding her from behind noticed her movement, "Hey, are you hiding something?"  
"Leave me alone. Who do you think you're attacking?"  
At this time, the guy looking around said to the other, "We haven't got much time. Take her into the car!"  
"Alright," the one holding her tried to drag her.  
"Hey, who's in there?! What on earth are you doing?!"  
Another voice came across from 100 feet away, as the footsteps were approaching. It must be the rescue. The two attackers made a run without snatching anything of her. Lumina heaved a heavy sigh and collapsed down behind the shrub. The rescuer stuck his head to check behind the shrub; it was a boy with dark side-part hair.  
"Are you all right?" The boy asked in a worried look, holding out his hand to help.  
"I'm okay, thanks," Lumina took his hand to stand up, and then walked across the shrub.

"Oh, it's you, Lumina Allison," the boy with side-part hair said her name.  
"How do you know my name?"  
"I'm in the same class of physics department," he laughed.  
"Uhh, sorry 'bout that," Lumina felt embarrassed.  
"That's okay. There are 80 students in the class, but every body knows your name because there're a few girls, and besides..."  
"Besides what?"  
"You are a daughter of Dr. Allison who wrote the guide books to Einstein's theory and quantum theory," the boy replied. "Uh, sorry I didn't say my name, Ted FitzGerald."  
"Oh, I was on the way to Dr. Matthews' office," Lumina screeched, showing Ted the message that was stuck on the bulletin board.  
"It was a trap, Lumina."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Dr. Matthews' message was always hand written. But this one is printed with a computer," Ted pointed out. "This must've been prepared by the attacker. By this message, they lured you here to ambush."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes, seminar info and notification of re-submission of reports are all hand-written."  
"Is that so... If it weren't for you I would've been snatched. Thank you, Ted."  
When she picked up her cell phone for calling the bodyguard, Ted talked to her, "If you have time, please come with me. I have something to show you."  
"What's something to show me?" she asked half suspiciously.  
"My paranormal studies club I just started up recently," he replied, "I've been deeply interested in paranormal phenomena, such as UFOs and psychics, but I think those mysterious things must be connected with theories of physics."  
Ted and Lumina started walking, while he was explaining his activity. About three minute later, a woman's voice came across.  
"Ted, who are you walking with?!"  
The woman ran toward them with an angry look. She had a curly amber hair like a flame, and had almond-eyes; she just looked like a meanie character in shōjo-mangas.  
"What are you planning to do walking with another girl than me?" As the provocative girl looked in Lumina's face to check, the two girls were surprised simultaneously.  
"Lumina Allison!"  
"Margaret O'Reilly!"  
Next minute, Margaret's attacking vector shifted from Ted to Lumina.  
"Hi, Lumina, I see you're still a bad vampire as ever. Ted is my boyfriend. You're going to steel my boyfriend again, huh?"  
"What do you mean again?" Lumina barked up.  
"Forgot already? It was three years ago," Margaret sniffed.  
"That was your misunderstanding, Margaret O'Reilly," Lumina replied immediately.  
However, at that moment, Madison Taylor came run to the scene, saying, "Lumina, what are you doing here. My bodyguards told me on the phone that you walked into the University all alone, and didn't come out in more than an hour. She was very worried about you. Come with me, Lumina, you might be in a dangerous state."  
Madison dragged Lumina away, even though Lumina and Margaret are busy with exchanging provoking look.


	4. Chapter 3: Lumina's Rival

Sorry for Cardcaptors haters:

This fanfiction is wirtten with the character names as Cardcaptors. So Sakura Kinomoto is referred to as Sakura Avalon, and Li Syaoran as Li Showron.

**Scientific Wizard Agency**

**Chapter 3: Lumina's Rival**

Sakura and Li sneaked in relativistic theory class instructed by Dr. Ken Matthews that Lumina attended, even in secret to Lumina. Observing her from the backmost seat, the two student detectives could see Lumina was boring. She must have mastered the subject before her entering the university, but she had to attend the class to earn the credit according to the university regulations.  
"Hey, look," Li tapped Sakura on the shoulder and whispered, "A boy is sitting next to her. Is he her boyfriend or something?"  
"No, that must be Ted FitzGerald who saved her from the attacker yesterday," Sakura whispered. "He wasn't recognized as a classmate by her before she was attacked. But after that he tags around her."  
"Hmm, that is the guy who saved her, huh..." Li mumbled.  
"And look, that professor is awesome," Sakura said in starry eyes to look at the good-looking Ken Matthews with glossy curly long hair, "I thought scientist was careless of appearance, but I was wrong. He looks terrific like a movie star. I know how Lumina feels for him from the way she talks of him. She must be in love."  
"Okay, it's good we can see Matthews and FitzGerald at one time," Li brusquely said, "Let's go out to get reputations."

* * *

Sakura and Li were sitting on a bench in the courtyard.  
"Lumina is super popular with boys in not only the physics department, but in the science school entirely," Sakura reported the reputation. "That's because there're few girls in the science school. Besides her looks, and being famous physicist's daughter, she stands out in the school."  
"On the other hand, Ted FitzGerald," Li began reporting, "wasn't recognized by Lumina until yesterday, but he is not a shy type. He started up the paranormal studies club, and persuaded students to join it. Yesterday, he saved Lumina from the attacker..."  
"That's fishy."  
"Yeah, absolutely... Wh-who is it?!" Li got surprised to find the one who just replied was not Sakura.  
The voice was from Margeret O'Reilly who just walked across, "I mean Lumina Allison is a fishy girl."  
"Oh, could this be Lumina's natural enemy?" Li mumbled.  
"Hey, it's rude. You should at least have said that she's Lumina's rival," Sakura corrected the sentence.  
"Whatever," Margaret talked to them with her hands on the waist, "Lumina Allison is a vampire that steals another girl's boyfriend. She knows how to control boys; she asks with starry eyes and then boys will do anything as she said."

* * *

Lumina came to the library where Sakura and Li were waiting. Lumina walked with Madison's bodyguard to their desk and sat down. As soon as she sat on the chair Li scolded her.  
"We heard from Madison Taylor, that you yesterday left the bodyguard at the school gate, and you were attacked by two attackers. You were careless; you should understand you are in dangers."  
"I'm sorry," Lumina apologized, and took something out of her bag. That was a compact voice recorder and a memory stick. "I just recorded the attacker's voice so you can analyze the frequency and the voice print."  
"Wow, you're a smart girl, Lumina," Sakura sang the praise, "are you carrying a voice recorder?"  
"I've sensed someone watching me these days; that's why I bring the voice recorder with me in case something happened. Yesterday, while I was attacked I managed to push the record button in my pocket," Lumina explained.

"Uh, Lumina, we just saw Margaret O'Reilly. Is she your friend from high school?" Sakura asked.  
"Don't be stupid!" Lumina shouted, as everybody in the library looked at her with irritated look. Feeling embarrassed, she rolled her eyes twice with a sweatdrop, before taking a deep breath to calm herself down.  
"Ah-hem, I am really sorry about that. So resume your reading, please, people."  
"Hmm, sounds disgusting, but she's like she was brought up in a proper family," Li ironically whispered.  
"Margaret O'Reilly is no friend," Lumina denied with irritation.  
"I don't totally believe her, but in Margaret's story you were a miss contest crasher and a vampire that seduces another girls' boyfriends," Li said in a whispering voice.

"That was all her misunderstanding," Lumina denied, "I'm not that naughty girl like she said." Lumina continued, "That day, three years ago, when I was a junior of high school, Madison and I visited Millington High School Festival. In the festival, Madison told me to participate in the Miss Millinton High Festival Grand Prix."  
"Oh, I know that. Miss Millington High Festival accepts intramural and extramural entries," Sakura joined the explanation, "Madison and I visited a year earlier, and she insisted I participate in it."  
"No kidding. Did you participate in it, Sakura?" Lumina asked.  
"No, I was embarrassed and said no," Sakura replied.  
"So I could have said no, then," Lumina mumbled sheepishly.  
"Oh, come to think of it, the elected Miss Millington High Festival was Margaret O'Reilly," Sakura added what she just remembered.  
"Yes, she was the queen of Millington high school," Lumina explained. "She won the championship three years in a row. Plus, she was the chairperson of student council for two years. Literally, the queen of Millington high school."  
"Margaret O'Reilly said that you took her boyfriend when the Miss Millington High Festival Grand Prix was over, and I think it's her misunderstanding, right?" Sakura asked.  
"Of course I didn't!" Lumina strongly answered. "Actually, a member of the managing council of the Miss Millington High Festival was one of Margaret's boyfriends."  
"One of...?!" Sakura asked for confirmation.  
"Yeah, I definitely think Margaret has plural boyfriends," Lumina replied. "Anyway, when the Grand Prix was over, the member of the managing council came to the greenroom to see me. He pestered me for my phone number and e-mail addy. Margaret came to see the scene, she thought I seduced him."

Lumina flashbacked the scene she first met Margaret O'Reilly. That was three years before. She participated in Miss Millington High Festival as an extramural entry, as Madison Taylor's suggestion. People said it's rather a rare case for an extramural entry, but Lumina won the third prize. When the Grand Prix was over, she was left in the greenroom alone; then a good-looking boy with keen eyes came in with a knock on the door.  
"Oh, you're here," the boy with brown straight hair said to Lumina, "You're Lumina Allison from Hornway High School, right?"  
"Yeah, thanks. I'm now leaving here," Lumina is about to leave the greenroom.  
The boy stood in the doorway, saying, "You won the third prize, and it was close. I thought you would win the first prize. Hey, may I exchange phone numbers and e-mail addys, huh?"  
"Excuse me, I'm leaving."  
The obnoxious boy pretended not hearing her, and continued, "Blazer, your uniform looks good on you." He touched her hair, then making her feel chill throughout the spinal cord.  
"I'm gonna scream!" she warned him.  
He wouldn't listen and stepped slowly toward her. She snatched a box beside her and threw. At this time, the door swung open. It was Margaret O'Reilly. _Thank God_, Lumina thought.  
"Hey, who's still in here?" Margaret stepped in the room, and opened her almond eyes even wider with surprise at her finding.  
"What in the world are you doing here?" she shouted.  
_Yes, thanks, Margaret O'Reilly_, Lumina thanked the rescuer at the moment.  
"I'm talking to you!" Margaret shouted at Lumina, "Are you seducing my boyfriend?"  
"I'm seducing? Can't you see this state?" Lumina retorted.  
"Can it! You're Lumina Allison from Hornway High School. Hmm, I remember a disgusting girl's name right away. I don't like you from the first sight of you."  
"Uh, anyway, whether I was a seducer or not will be uncovered by questioning this kinky fella," Lumina suggested, but the guy who had approached her was gone.  
"Kinky fella... what kind language are you speaking to call my boyfriend? You should be ashamed!" The amber haired girl turned even madder at Lumina's words, and continued:  
"You're such a naughty girl that seduces the boyfriend from the champion of Miss Millington High Festival. Oh, no wonder, you're from Horny High School, aren't you," Margaret laughed aloud in an arrogant attitude.  
"Hornway High School!"  
"Whatever, I don't think it's a good idea to take part in the Miss Queen contest held in another school and look for trouble," Margaret spat out.  
"Oh, well? As you well know, Miss Millington High Festival Gran Prix accepts extramural entries. And this year's contest includes 8 extramural entries among 17 entries."  
"Oh, you have a nerve to retort me, huh? Between the girls: one who won the first prize, and the other won the third prize at most. Who do you think which one is beautiful, and which one is ugly, little Lumina Allison girl?" Margaret provoked her opponent.  
"What? With your burning-red hair and provocative sharp eyes, you can't be a heroine in a manga. You can be at most a malicious character!" Lumina spoke back.  
_Everybody must be crazy to have given this stubborn fool the first prize_, Lumina thought.  
_Everybody must be crazy to have given this slut the third prize_, Margaret thought.

"Uh, hello, Lumina, wake up," Sakura called Lumina.  
"Uh... I'm sorry, I just remembered one disgusting thing," Lumina said pressing her hand on the forehead. "Yes, she's disgusting."  
Li started to talk, "We have investigated and listed up the people who might be related to the matter. Let me report the people we listed so far." Li began to read the name of the people and their data. Those data are as follows:

Michael Allison is Lumina's father who is the famous physicist as the author of his guide books to theoretical physics. He tends to hide away to finish his paper or book when the deadline is around the corner. He never told his hiding place to anyone, not even to Lumina. He has hidden away since a few weeks ago, and some unusual things began to happen around Lumina almost the same time.

Ken Matthews is new substitute instructor of theory of relativity and quantum mechanics classes, who was Dr. Allison's former assistant. In the days as his assistant, he went hiding away with Dr. Allison to finish his paper; however, he doesn't know about his hiding place this time. So he called Lumina to his office in order to obtain the information about his hiding place. It may be possible that he's planning to steal Dr. Allison's research.

"Hey, wait a minute. Are you suspicious of Dr. Matthews?" Lumina halted the report, and questioned pointing her finger at Li.  
"Calm down, it's only a possibility," Sakura explained.  
"A good-looker like him can't be the one who did it," Lumina said closing her eyes.  
"Okay, you keep dreaming," Li said kind of annoyed, and continued.

Ted FitzGerald is a classmate of Lumina's. But this poor boy wasn't recognized as a classmate by Lumina until recently. However, he isn't a shy type; conversely, he started up the paranormal studies club last spring, and gathered members of the club. The club consists of 10 members; within them 7 members are girls. That's a mystery. We haven't found any possible motive, but his appearance is timely enough to be suspicious. We have to investigate his club in more detail.

Margaret O'Reilly is Lumina's rival for feminine attractiveness. She is escorted by some good-looking boys she called boyfriends. But I think they're just for her ego trip. She was brought up in a wealthy family like Madison Taylor, but she's arrogant unlike Madison Taylor. It's possible that she bears a grudge on Lumina since she misunderstood Lumina took her boyfriend three years ago.

Unindentified two guys attacked Lumina when she was on the way to Dr. Matthews' office. In my opinion, they are just punks—I mean—someone else must be behind. They lured her with fictitious Dr. Matthews' message and ambushed her; that might imply that they were working under the command of another person than Dr. Matthews.

After looking at Sakura by a glance, Li looked at Lumina when he said, "Among the listed people, we're interested in your father for our investigation. I mean we need to get a clue of Dr. Allison's hide-away."  
"So, Lumina, please come with me to Dr. Allison's laboratory at Krudeland University," Sakura continued. "With Dr. Allison's daughter, I think it's easier for us to get information from his assistant."  
"So do you want me to make an appointment?" Lumina asked.  
"No, we gotta visit his laboratory without appointment," Li answered shaking his head. "And I want to go just right now."  
"Right now?!"

* * *

Impulsively, the three students took a train to get to Krudeland University. It took about an hour. When they entered Dr. Allison's laboratory, one of his assistants came to meet them.  
"We want to see Dr. Allison," Li asked.  
"Uh, Dr. Allison is out these days. Well, who is it?" the assistant replied.  
Lumina stepped forward, "I came to see my Dad. I'm Lumina Allison, his daughter."

She showed him her student ID to identify herself. Looking into Lumina's face and the ID to compare, he smiled at her, "Welcome, Lumina. Dr. Allision told me to guide you to his office when you are here."  
"How long has he been out?" Li asked.  
"For a few weeks," the assistant answered, "ah, he just dropped by three days ago."  
The assistant unlocked Dr. Allison's office and let the three students in. The moment Lumina stepped in, he whispered in her ear, "I've got a message: the key to the truth lies on the foundamental forces of the universe."  
"Huh?" Lumina turned back.  
"You will find out, Dr. Allison said that," the assistant replied smiling.

"Dr. Allison left some clue in this room, didn't he?" Sakura said.  
"Positively," Li said, "that's why he left his assistant a message so Lumina can find the clue."  
"Oh, no!" Lumina gasped.  
"What's the matter?" Sakura asked turning to the blond-haired girl.  
"Someone else than Dad was in the room before us," Lumina said trembling in fear.  
"How'd you know?" Li asked.  
"The pencil stand is on the right corner of the desk. But my Dad is left-handed; it's quite strange," she answered with her eyes widely opened.  
"It must be the attacker. They must have tried to look for something in this room. I hope they didn't find anything," Li mumbled.  
"Look!" Sakura pointed the desk drawer with four dials on it. Each dial had roman alphabets on it instead of numerals.  
"This must be the key to something important Dad is hiding," Lumina said excitedly, "but talking about the patterns written with four arbitrary alphabets, the number of possible permutations is 26 to the four, that is equal to... 450,000! It would take about a month to try and check all the patterns without any rest, assuming a check of one pattern needs five seconds."  
"The key to the truth lied on the fundamental forces may be the clue to unlock the drawer," Sakura straightly looked at the dials, "fundamental forces like, wind, water, fire, and earth."  
"Good guess, Sakura. But Dr. Allison is an expert of modern physics," Li continued, "So it must be, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, electromagnetic force, and gravitation."  
"Yes, Li. I think the same," Lumina agreed.  
"Umm, what's it all about?" Sakura asked in a puzzled look.  
"Universe is ruled by the four fundamental forces: strong nuclear force bonds protons and neutrons together to form atomic nuclei like carbon and oxygen. Weak nuclear force triggers radioactive decay. Electromagnetic force is the force of electricity and magnet. Gravitation is the force acting between an apple and the earth, academically identified by Issac Newton," Lumina explained.  
She continued, "So the dial must be arranged with S-W-E-G. The number of possible permutations is 24."  
"So, we gotta try 24 patterns until it's unlocked at the worst case?" Li asked with a sigh.  
"You're right, but it's much easier than 450,000 patterns," Lumina said in an affected manner.  
"But we gotta do if it's the only way," Sakura encouraged Li.  
"Don't worry. Actually, I've got an idea," Lumina confessed teasingly with a grin. "Try, S-E-W-G in this order."  
Li spun the dial to set the key as the blond-long-haired girl said.  
"It doesn't work," he shook his head.  
"Then, try G-S-W-E."  
Li spun the dial to set the key, and there was a click inside.  
"It worked!" Li and Sakura exclaimed. The drawer opened.  
"How'd you know the right alignment?" Sakura asked Lumina with the starry eyes. "It's the chronological order of emergence in the early universe," she answered.

Inside the drawer was a piece of paper and an SD memory card. The paper was written with the following message:

**Good job, Lumina, you found this.**  
**My seclusion has induced a bad thing I didn't even expect.**  
**I didn't mean to drive you to a dangerous state, but I know**  
**someone is after you. I am really sorry, my sweetheart.**  
**You have to take this SD memory card, and always keep it with you.**  
**You'll find a way to contact me soon.**

"Not just a coincidence," Lumina mumbled hopelessly when she took the SD memory card. "Dad's seclusion is the cause of the weird things that have been happening."  
"Look at the bright side, Lumina," Sakura encouraged the girl, "good of us to be here. Now you grab the clue of the truth."  
"She's right," Li added, "even though you're in danger, we're here to help you. Don't be afraid."

* * *

Later on that evening, a car came to a mansion in the outskirts of town. A young man stepped out of the car, walking to the entrance of the house. Unlocking the door, he entered the house and walked in the corridor. Then he knocked on the door to the room at the end and opened it without waiting for a reply. Inside the room, another man around the age of thirty was doing his writing work at his desk. His desk was full of pieces of paper with a lot of formulae of quantum physics written on them. The man was a physicist.  
"She came to the office and finally found it," the man who entered the room reported.  
"We couldn't open the drawer, but I knew she would be able to open it and get something inside. That something must be a clue of Dr. Allison's hiding place or his valuable data. You stay watching over her and wait for the timing to snatch it," the physicist with blue eyes said to the man who just reported.


	5. Chapter 4: Lumina as Decoy

Sorry for Cardcaptors haters:

This fanfiction is wirtten with the character names as Cardcaptors. So Sakura Kinomoto is referred to as Sakura Avalon, and Li Syaoran as Li Showron.

**Scientific Wizard Agency**

**Chapter 4: Lumina as Decoy**

In the morning, Sakura and Li in the research room were busy with analyzing the voice they newly recorded last night. They converted the frequency and envelops of the voice, before checking the voiceprint on the screen of a personal computer. The analyzed voice sounded, "Stay away from this matter. It's none of your business." In the course of analysis, Sakura whispered a complaint to Li, "Y'know it's hard to use the magic." As a matter of fact, the analysis was attended by Lumina Allison as well.

Although Sakura and Li didn't usually let anyone else in the research room, they had to let Lumina in for this reason. An hour earlier, Lumina rushed in the L&S Detective Agency's office with another memory stick with the voice data stored in it.  
"I had strange calls last night, and I recorded the voice in the memory stick. I want you to analyze the voice."  
"Good morning, Lumina," Sakura greeted. "We had a strange call last night, and we are preparing for analysis."  
"Yeah, they must have used a voice changer to impede identification," Li added with his arms crossed at the chest.  
Li pushed the play button so Lumina could hear it. The voice recorder plays the voice as follows:

Stay away from this Lumina case; it's none of your business. (in culprit's voice)  
Who the heck it it?! (in Li's voice)  
Don't do funny things. We are always watching you in the university. (in culprit's voice)

"Even though the voice was changed, this voice data gave us two crucial pieces of info," Li said walking around the desk slowly, "they are two or more people, and they may be a students or stuff at the university."  
"Oh, you're smart, Li," Sakura nodded her head with admiration.  
"Stupid culprit..." Lumina mumbled.

"Oh, by the way, I got two strange calls last night. First one was the changed voice telling me to come to the foot of the fire escape of the building E by 5:00 p.m. with the stuff we got at Krudeland University yesterday, and the second one was..." Lumina stammered with a blush of embarrassment.  
Sakura worried her at the change of face expression, then she patted Lumina on the back, "Second one was...? What did he say to you... if you can tell me, Lumina."  
"Second one was... a natural voice, but he... whispered dirty stuff on the phone... panting..."  
"Okay, but the second one is different, let's skip it," Li concluded as his usual way.  
"Hey, Li! I know the second one might be a different case, but could you find a nicer way to say it? She must've been terrified when she got a prank call from someone unknown," Sakura complained with an irritation that boys don't understand at all that girls can be terrified of men acting perversion.  
"All right, all right, I am really sorry."  
Lumina took a deep breath to calm herself down, walked three steps forward and three steps backward, before talking:  
"Okay, anyway, let's analyze the voice. I don't like to be pestered without doing anything in return."  
"Are you saying you want to analyze the voice with us?" Sakura ascertained.  
"Yeah, voice analysis is an applied region of physics. I think I can help you," Lumina pronounced in a determined look.  
Sakura and Li turned to look at each other, at the difficulty of what to reply, because their analysis needs the magic of Star Cards. Li whispered:  
"Sakura, can you use your magic without being watched?"  
"Mmm... I'll try it," Sakura narrowed her eyes.  
After all this, Lumina Allison attended the analysis in the research room.

In the voice analysis, Sakura used her Voice Card and Wave Card. The Voice Card shifted the frequency and modulation, and pronounced the converted voice. The Wave Card eliminated unwanted sound waves, or strengthened the component they needed to extract. When Sakura thought the name of the card to use the magic card itself slipped out of the deck; then she flipped the card at the opening of her pocket, and eventually the card was activated. As a beginner Cardcaptor in the past she used to need to hit the card with her sealing wand to activate the magic, but now she had so strong magical powers that all she needed to activate the magic was just flipping with a finger.

There was one more thing that worked in the analyzing job. That was the analyzing software programmed by Zachary, Li's best friend from elementary school. Zachary's analyzing software identifies the patterned of images and sound waves. L&S Detective Agency's investigation was the combination of magical Star Cards and Zachary's identification technique.

"We got it. Last night's threatening phone calls to this office and Lumina belong to the same person. Look, the voiceprints are completely matched," Li pointed the screen.  
"Then how about the matching with the attacker a few days ago? I mean the ones who tried to snatch me," Lumina urged.  
"I just analyzed the data, but the attackers' voiceprint was not the same," Sakura reported.  
"Besides, those attackers spoke in a flattened speech, with weak intonation. I wonder where that accent comes from," Li said shaking her head.  
"Hmm, is that so? Please let me listen to the converted voice of the threatening calls of last night."  
Sakura secretly summoned the Voice Card to play the converted voice.  
"Is this the optimum frequency of conversion?" the twenty-year old client ascertained.  
"Yes, I tried some other frequencies, but the voice was collapsed. This frequency is around the optimum," Sakura replied.  
"Hey, why is that girl acting like our leader?" Li whispered a complained in Sakura's ear.  
"Don't mind it, Li. She's a physics wiz, and she can give us appropriate directions, I guess."  
"Huph, that's all right, then."  
Lumina listened to the converted voice carefully, with her thumb and forefinger on her chin.  
"This sounds like someone I know from the university, but I don't quite know who it is," she said.

"The culprit told Lumina to take the SD memory card to the foot of the fire escape of the building E by 5:00 p.m," Li changed the subject. "That may be the opportunity to identify the suspect."  
"What do you have in your mind?" Sakura asked.  
"Lumina, you stand there at the foot of the fire escape by 5:00 p.m., as the culprit told you," Li said. "You take your bag without the SD memory card in it."  
"Hey, are you going to use her as a decoy?" Sakura gasped and shook Li's shoulder.  
"Of course, it's a good opportunity," Li plainly replied, and continue to explain his plan. "We're going to hide behind the shrub nearby and wait for the timing. The culprit will attack you before snatching your bag. At the moment the culprit appears we'll jump in the scene and catch him."  
"Wait, let me ask you," Lumina said in a worried look, "hiding behind the shrub, are you sure you can protect me from harm?"  
"Don't worry, we'll do as hard as we can," Li plainly answered.  
"That's not the answer to my question," she stepped closer to Li, "I am asking you if you're sure you can protect me."  
Instead of him, Sakura replied, "Don't worry, we have the skill to handle even in such dangerous states."  
Sakura walked beside Li and whispered, "To protect her from the distance, we'll only have to use our magic."  
"Yeah, Sakura. We'll use our magic if we really have to."

* * *

Sakura and Li went apart to make another information gathering. Lumina went to the paranormal studies club with Sakura. That club was the newly established by Ted FitzGerald last spring. When they arrived at the club, a girl with bob hairstyle wearing glasses came to meet them. "What? Is it Nikki?!" Sakura exclaimed.  
"Sakura! I didn't expect I'd see you here! Wow, you're tall." The girl called Nikki exclaimed the same manner.  
That girl was Nikki Young, a friend of Sakura's from her elementary school days. She had been crazy about mysterious things such as aliens, ghost, and psychics since her elementary school days. It was quite natural that kind of girl is in the paranormal studies club.  
"And... hey, you're Lumina Allison, aren't you," Nikki exclaimed again.

Lumina and Sakura were guided into the room. The room had several bookshelves and instruments racks. The bookshelves were full of books on physics, chemistry, radio transmission engineering, and paranormal phenomena. In the instrument rack, some measuring instrument were placed neatly.  
"Oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, signal generator..." Sakura thought to herself. She knows a little of measuring instruments since her big brother is a sales engineers of a measuring instrument company.  
"Now we are currently studying the electromagnetic effect of poltergeists," Nikki joyfully explains. "Here, the aura detector." She pointed the spectrum analyzer on a desk.  
"Can this instrument really detect aura or poltergeists?" Lumina asked with her forefinger on her chin.  
"In Ted's opinion, the spirit is related to electromagnetic waves. So this instruments can detect poltergeists," Nikki replied.  
"Are there any other members in here?" Sakura interrupted.  
"I'm sorry... uh, other members are out now, Sakura," Nikki stammered. "Do you want to see other members?"  
"Uh, no, that's okay, thanks."  
Strange, I thought there's another person... I'm not sure but I kind of sense there're two people hiding. I wonder if Nikki knows it.  
"Huh?" Lumina found Sakura thinking to herself, but she didn't have any clue what stuck in Sakura's mind.

Leaving the paranormal studies club, the two girls happened to meet Ted who just came to the club.  
"Hi, Lumina, you just came here. Sorry, I was out."  
"That's okay, Nikki explained the paranormal studies club," she replied.  
"Is that so? Did you see other members?"  
"No, she was alone in the room."  
"Good."  
When Lumina and Sakura are leaving Ted spoke to Lumina again:  
"Uh, I just want to listen to you with the physics point of view about paranormal phenomena."  
"I'm sorry I gotta go now," Lumina replied.  
"Okay, maybe another day, then," Ted smiled.

* * *

There came the time for decoying, Lumina arrived at the fire escape of the building E at 4:40 p.m. She had a bag without the SD memory card as Li instructed in advance. Sakura and Li were supposed to be hiding behind the shrub near her, but she didn't know where. Strange might it be though, Li thought she shouldn't know where the two detectives were hiding because in that case the culprit would find from Lumina's eyes that he might be ambushed. Standing with her back to the emergency exit, Lumina couldn't help feeling anxiety.

_ Will this really work? What will the culprit do to me when he finds me? Will he knock me out, or thrust me over to snatch my bag? Or even snatch me, too? Will the two student detectives are able to protect me safe? But they aren't close to me. Then how will they protect me. Why should I be acting like a decoy? This isn't something a pretty girl like me does, is it?_

Time went on; the culprit hadn't shown though it was a quarter past five. Li and Sakura are hiding behind the shrub about 50 feet from the pretty decoy.  
"Late, something is strange," Li mumbled looking into his wrist watch.  
"He may have noticed we're hiding here," Sakura said.

Similarly, the pretty decoy was watching her wrist watch in an irritated manner. At this minute, there was a thud on Lumina's back and head, as she was knocked down on the ground.  
"Know my plight release the light!"  
"Windy Card!"  
In response, two hiding wizards cast a spell to activate their magic onto the attacker. A thunderbolt struck him, before a gust of wind spun him into the whirlpool. He fainted.  
"Awww..." Lumina sat up pressing the back of her head.  
Sakura and Li ran to Lumina, "Are you all right?"  
"Uhh, I'm all right. So is this guy the one who's been bothering me these days?"  
"Positively. Let's check who he is."  
When Li rolled the unconscious man face up to identify, Lumina gasped with astonishment.  
"Jeez, I don't believe it. It's Dr. Matthews!"  
Sakura gulped at the unexpected result, "The truth is stranger than fiction. He was Dr. Allison's assistant, but why did he..."  
At this moment, Ken woke up.  
"Wh-what just happened? Hey, you guys, what kind of joke is it?" Ken shouted in anger.  
"Dr. Matthews, I'm sorry... but... I..." Lumina couldn't find a good word to say even though she tried hard to look through her vocabulary.  
"We are from L&S Detective Agency," Li stepped front of the group and explained. "We are investigating the case someone is pestering Ms. Lumina Allison."  
Li and Sakura explained him that the culprit was aiming Dr. Allison's research, and that Lumina was summoned by the culprit to give him the SD memory card received from Dr. Allison.  
"Then you guys thought I was the one who's been pestering Ms. Allison, and you attacked me, didn't you?" Ken still unable to understand the treatment questioned. "Futhermore, it looked like you two were not nearby. What did you do to make me faint?"  
"Uhh... actually... he is a kung-fu fighter, and I am an expert of aikido (martial art derived from judo)," Sakura managed to explain with a nervous smile.  
Li was nodded his head several times without a word.  
"Anyway, listen," Ken began explaining the scene of attack they supposed. "I didn't mean to attack Ms. Allison, I swear. I just came out through the emergency exit to get some softdrink at the vending machine. Who would have expected Ms. Allison was standing just behind the steel door?"  
In Ken's explanation, he opened the steel door to walk out of the building, where Lumina is waiting for the attacker with her bag. In opening the door, the knob hit in her spinal cord first, and then the steel plate of door hit in the back of her head subsequently. Finally, thrust forward, she fell on the ground. Sakura and Li mistook this sequence of accident as an attack by the culprit.  
"And, why should I steal Dr. Allison's research?" Ken was still irritated.  
"I believe you aren't the one who did it, but... I'm sorry, Dr. Matthews," Lumina apologized.  
"No, you're still insecure when there's no evidence," Li brusquely added.  
"This brat..."

At this moment, something was thrown toward Lumina from a distance. Sakura noticed, "Windy!"  
Sakura summoned the Windy magic to curve the trajectory, but it was too late. Although succeeding in bending the trajectory, something thrown hit the back of Lumina's head with a dump. Lumina collaped and fainted on her face.  
"Oh my gosh! What should I do?!" Sakura was upset. "I shouldn't have used the Windy!"  
"If you hadn't used the Windy, it shouldn't have bumped into her head at least," Li brusquely replied.  
"Oh, no! What should I do?! What should I do?!"  
"Do nothing, Sakura. No matter how deeply you feel sorry, you mustn't apologize to her," Li said.  
"Why not?"  
"If you said you're sorry, you'd have to explain you used your magic. Which is better," Li coldly answered.  
"Sorry, Lumina..." she cried silently.  
About one minute later, Lumina woke up groaning. "Why me..."  
The thrown stuff was a stone wrapped with paper, which Ken unwrapped. Reading the message written on the paper, Ken chuckled, "This message clears the suspicion against me." The message read:

**L&S Detective Agency... Don't underestimate us.**  
**You tried to fool us with an empty bag. You have to pay for it.**

"Thank you, Mr. Culprit. You saved the day," Ken sang the praise.  
"Anyway, where did he throw this stone at me?" Lumina said angrily.  
"Maybe behind the shrub over there," Li pointed the shrub 100 feet away.  
"In that case..." Lumina frantically wrote equations on the ground and calculated something. "Daahhh, he just gave me the damage on my head by 8.7 Joules at least! It's unforgivable!"  
"Is it just me, or Lumina sure is pretty but kind of weird..." Sakura mumbled.  
"Moreover, I don't know if 8.7 Joules of impact is crucial," Li sarcastically commented.

At that time, Ken Matthews walked closer to Li with a determined look.  
"As a former assistant of Dr. Allison's, I think I should help you with investigation. Should someone be truly planning to steal Dr. Allison's research, should there be such a nasty scientist, that couldn't be allowed," Ken said firmly when he took his hand to Li.  
"Uh... All right," Li took his hand in response to Ken's motion; the two shook hands for cooperation.

* * *

On that night, two student detectives, Lumina and Dr. Matthews are working with information obtained in the investigation. Sakura asked Lumina to take a break and took her out of the room. Two girls climbed the stairs to the rooftop of the building. Sakura started out a conversation:  
"Oh, there's cool breeze blowing. Comfortable," Sakura said, "I've wanted to talk to you alone, Lumina."  
"Huh?"  
"Just like you, my father is a professor at a university. Mine is an archeology professor, always busy with research work, writing papers, excavations and such," Sakura sighed but smiled. "But he is a good father, he can do almost everything; he can cook and sewing."  
"So you like your father very much, Sakura, don't you?"  
"Yeah, right. How 'bout you? Do you like your father, Lumina?"  
"Yes, I like my Dad, too. Like yours, Dad is busy with writing papers, conferences, appearing in TV programs... Unlike yours, Dad doesn't do anything at home. Housekeeping chores are done by Mom and house keeping maids."  
"Mom... that's good word to hear. My mom passed away when I was three," Sakura mumbled.  
"I'm sorry. I didn't know that and..."  
"That's okay. I heard my Mom was always happy living with her family," Sakura said looking at the downtown lights seen from up the rooftop. "My name Sakura was named by Mom, actually. It's a Japanese word meaning cherry blossoms, Mom's favorite flowers."  
"That sounds nice," Lumina was looking at Sakura on the sideview. "I was named by Dad."  
"Your name is unique, too."  
"I don't like my name," Lumina mumbled.  
"How come? It sounds cute."  
"Does it? In short form, does it sound like loony? Besides, I was teased being called Luminatic by boys when I was a little kid," she pouted.  
In listening to her, Sakura almost laughed, "Ha ha... oops... sorry. Anyway, I guess it has some special meaning, doesn't it?"  
Lumina thought for a moment before whispering sheepishly in Sakura's ear. In hearing her talk, Sakura nodded and smiled.  
"You've got a good name; you should be proud of it," Sakura smiled.

"Dr. Matthews looks terrific, but I think you're in love with him, aren't you?" Sakura's question made Lumina blush instantly. The embarrassed girl started toy with her blond long hair, as she sheepishly talks, "All I know about him is he was a former assistant of Dad's, he's kindhearted, and he practiced playing soccer. I first met him when I was 14; I visited Dad's university and found him in the laboratory. He's twelve years older than me."  
"You haven't confessed your feelings to him, have you."  
Lumina shook her hear instead of replying in words.  
"I hope some day you'll have your own timing to confess your honest feeling you have about him," Sakura gently whispered.  
"Thank you," Lumina smiled back forming tears in her eyes. "By the way, I wonder if Li Showron is your boyfriend, Sakura? I think he's a bit of square, and brusque."  
Sakura clasped her hands behind and stretched backwards, as she said with a giggle, "He's a kind and reliable person. I've known him from elementary school days. Whether he's my boyfriend or not—I should say yes—but since we've known for such a long time, now I think he's my precious."  
Putting her elbows on the handrail to support her head with the hands on the cheeks, Lumina smiled and looked distance. "You sound happy to be with him."  
"Does he have the same special powers like you?" Lumina changed questions.  
"Wh-what do you mean?"  
"I don't know what kind of power it can be, but I have no idea how you knocked out Dr. Matthews unconscious from the distance. Actually, I found something interesting at the paranormal studies club. They had the instrument to measure the intensity of aura..."  
"That's just a spectrum analyzer; ordinary laboratories have that kind of instruments. I kind of know it cause my big brother is a sales engineer of an instrument company."  
"I know. The aura detector they called was left powered on when we visited the club. Interestingly, when you're thinking of or concentrating on something, some spectrums appeared in the screen."  
_That must be when I sensed the presence of someone suspcious and tried to identify it!_  
"Wha... That can be... uh..." Sakura lost a word to say. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean to give you a hard time. It doesn't matter if you have special powers or not. So I won't tell anyone about what I saw in the paranormal studies club, I promise."  
Sakura nodded without a word.  
"Well, I've been studies theoretical physics. It's the academic subject to explain the basic structure of the universe. Even though we have found out the basic structure, there are much more things we cannot explain. Anything around us—especially human—is consists of complicated applied structures. I mean the present science has succeeded in explaining very little subset of the truth. There are many many unknown phenomena; besides, the more we reveal with our science the much more mysteries we will find."  
The two college girl students kept on talking for another ten minutes looking at the night sky above them, before going down back to the research room together.


	6. Chapter 5: Lumina E-Mailed

Sorry for Cardcaptors haters:

This fanfiction is wirtten with the character names as Cardcaptors. So Sakura Kinomoto is referred to as Sakura Avalon, and Li Syaoran as Li Showron.

**Scientific Wizard Agency**

**Chapter 5: Lumina E-Mailed**

By Dr. Matthews' suggestion, L&S Detective Agency had a temporary office at Freedstone University. Since the client Lumina Allison and the new supporter Dr. Matthews are related to the university, he suggested the detective agency should have its base in Freedstone University. He told Sakura and Li that they can use his seminar room as the temporary office.

The seminar room was rearranged into the temporary office during the weekend when there were few ordinary staffs and students. Dr. Matthews had told his assistants in advance that the seminar room would be temporarily used for the joint research with Green Hills University.

Thanks to a subsidiary company of Taylor's Toys Company—managed by Madison Taylor's home— the rearrangement progressed so quickly, that the place had turned into the temporary office by the morning of Sunday. Right after the noon of the same day, L&S Detective Agency held the first meeting at the new office. The attendees were Sakura Avalon, Li Showron, Lumina Allison, Ken Matthews, and Madison Taylor. The main topics of the meeting were the SD memory card and the paranormal studies club.

* * *

Lumina reported the contents stored in the SD memory card she and the student detectives had found three days ago. She said that the memory card contains some experimental data and some message.  
"What kind of experimental data is stored in the card?" Dr. Matthews asked.  
"Well, I guess it represents the trajectories of particles at annihilation process. I don't know where, but the experiment should have been conducted some special facilities, like particle collider," she replied.  
"Do you think the culprit is wanting that data stored in it?" Li asked.  
Lumina shook her head with a frown, and showed the attendees a graph by an LCD projector.  
"Look, this is an example of data stored in the memory card. I don't think this data is so special that the culprit is eager to get against the risk. What do you think about it, Dr. Matthews?"  
"Hmm, I think Ms. Allison's right. That looks like particles' trajectory seen in the particle collision process. I don't find anything special in that data," Ken answered.  
Madison Taylor raised her hand and said, "Well, I don't quite understand anything technical, but is it possible that the data is just intermediate, and there's another key hidden in the memory card which will lead to the final information?"  
"Wow, you're smart, Madison," Sakura clapped her hands.  
Lumina nodded and smiled keeping her mouth closed, when she flipped a cursor key on the computer to advance the page of the projected screen. The new page shown was a massage which includes an array of digits:

**Fill out the blanks to complete the number created by God.**  
**In filling the blank, your personal computer must be**  
**connected to the internet.**  
** _**

"I found this page in the SD memory card," Lumina explained. "As Madison's presumption, this must be the password dialog to the next information."  
"Hey, is that some sort of sequence, like Fibonacci series?" Li asked.  
"Created by God... Could it be related to natural phenomena, or what?" Sakura mumbled with her face down in a puzzled look.  
"Number created by God... sounds like a constant number in physics," Ken continued.  
"Yes, Sakura and Dr. Matthews," Lumina giggled and walked happily around the meeting desk, "I think the massage gives us two clues. First one is number created by God. That implies a constant number in physics as Sakura and Dr. Matthews presumed."  
"And what's the second clue?" Li asked.  
"Here," she pinpointed place on the screen with a laser pointer. "Complete the number. Heh heh heh... this may imply that the constant is a rigid number not an approximated one written in nine digits. There's only one that fulfill such conditions... that must be... the speed of light!"  
Dr. Matthews opened his eyes wide, nodding his head with a heavy breath.  
Not understanding what that meant, Sakura and Madison are impressed by Lumina's punch of speech.  
"So I want to show you what will happen when I complete the number. Uh, can I connect this computer to the internet?" Lumina asked.  
"Okay, there is a cable," Ken pointed the LAN cable at the foot of the desk.  
Li picked it up and hand it to Lumina, with which she plugged in the socket. She entered the number to fill out the blanks smoothly. The completed number is 299792458. When she clicked on the Enter button, another page was displayed, which read:

**Good job, Lumina.**  
**I hope this password was resolved not by other person.**  
**Well, please wait for my next message.**

"Mutilayered password blocks," Madison Taylor uttered with starry eyes, clasping her hands at the chest.  
"What for?" Li asked.  
"The next message will be sent to Lumina's e-mail addy or phone call or you-name-it. Even if the SD memory card should be stolen and the password was resolved, the next message will not be sent to the evil. What a smart way to do it!" Madison sang the praise of the multilayered password block she just named.

* * *

The second topic was the paranormal studies club. L&S Detective Agency had found something suspicious about the club. First, Sakura reported the findings she made when she and Lumina visited the club. In her report, the club was started by Ted FitzGerald but sometimes Margaret O'Reilly visited. Ted is so crazy about the paranormal things that he went visit some paranormal studies lab in the outskirts of town from time to time. In contrast, Margaret has little interest in those dubious things, then why does she have to visit the club?

There's one more thing that Sakura found in the club. The club possessed some measuring instruments. As was heard from her big brother Tori, Sakura knew that such instrument was too expensive for a small student-managed club to buy. How could they possess such expensive instruments?

Next, Li reported his investigation. Margaret O'Reilly attended not only Ted's club but other clubs. Those clubs she attended had something in common. Those club were led by the boys Margaret called boyfriends.  
"I knew it! She has two or more boyfriends!" Lumina said aloud disgustedly.  
"What kind of girl is Margaret O'Reilly?" Ken asked.  
"Simply, Lumina's rival," Li plainly replied.  
"I know that. I'm wondering what she's up to?" Sakura said half annoyed.  
"Well, Margaret's father is the CEO of a computer software company," Madison gave the information to the members. "She likes to show off, and drives a red sports car."  
Li continued, "According to the information I got these days, she invested some money on those clubs owned by her boyfriends."  
"How much money does she invest each club a month?" Lumina asked.  
"About 500 bucks a month," Li answered.  
"Not enough money to buy those instruments even with two- or three-year worth savings of money," Sakura interrupted.  
"About where the instruments came from, the club might have someone else behind that supplies those instruments," Li frowned. He thought silently with his arms crossed, until he explained:  
"We need more information! That's right. Lumina has the opponent named Margaret. Does Dr. Allison has an opponent like his daughter?"  
Ken Matthews raised his hand before saying. "Dr. Kyle Emerson. He's a professor at this university, majoring in cosmology, the same as Dr. Allison. They start a big dispute every time they attend the same symposium."  
Li smirked, "I bet he has an enemy or two at least. He's where Lumina inherits from, so it's not a tough thing to find his enemy."  
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Lumina stood up and protested, but at a glance of Ken she tuned silent with a blush sitting down with her hands on the knees.  
"Uh, anyway, we have to investigate the paranormal studies laboratory in the outskirts of town and Dr. Emerson at this university."

* * *

After the meeting, Lumina was working with the computer at the back of the temporary office. She looked busy with checking the data in the SD memory card, calculated with equations on paper, and then typed sentences including equations.  
"What's she doing?" Li asked Sakura.  
"Beats me. Since she received the SD memory card, she has been working like that," Sakura replied in a puzzled look.  
"Did you see her reporting in today's meeting? When talking about physics, she's awesome; I must admit," Li sighed.  
"A girl who has a gift for science is superb," Sakura said.  
"She is acting like a freak in other time, though. With her looks, she could be busy with boys that ask for dating as long as she keeps quiet," Li jokingly said.  
Sakura blinked her eyes without a word, thinking it unusual for him to talk of another person that way.

* * *

Li got a kind of shock that he couldn't paranormal studies lab in the outskirts of town in the Google map. It may not be a public lab, but a private lab facilities owned by an enthusiastic scientist. It was Sunday when he couldn't find anyone in the campus to give him information. Investigation about Dr. Emerson was the same. He gave up and decided to postpone the investigation next day.  
"Yes, luckily, there's Dr. Emerson's class tomorrow," he thought. "That may be the beginning of the investigation on him."

On the other hand, Sakura asked Li to come along with her to Vicky Newman. Vicky Newman was a friend of Sakura's big brother Tori from their high school days. She had been the leader of the drama club and now she was an actress. When Li asked why she wanted to visit Vicky, Sakura replied he would know when he sees her. Sakura and Li went to Vicky's office leaving Lumina and two of Madison's bodyguards at their temporary office.

* * *

Next morning, it was raining. Li asked Lumina to attend Dr. Emerson's class together for the investigation. Dr. Emerson's class was on Elementary Particles for junior students.  
"Lumina, do you have some technical knowledge on elementary particles?"  
"Yes, but why."  
"When the class is over, we'll visit Dr. Emerson's office to ask some questions. Throughout the questions and answers I will collect information related to the matter. According to the timetable, he has only one class on Monday; this class only. So he may have time for chip-chat."

Lumina and Li sat the backmost seat attending the class. _Dr. Emerson is large. How come he and Dad can't get along well_, she thought.  
"Lumina, when the class is over, we'll follow and catch him just before he enters his office. The first purpose is to enter the office together with him, so we can have a long conversation," Li whispered to the girl sitting next to him.  
"Okay, just before he enters his office. I got it," Lumina agreed.

* * *

After the class was over, Lumina and Li followed Dr. Emerson just as planned. When he was about to take the knob of the entrance of his office, she caught him, saying:  
"Excuse me, Dr. Emerson, I'd like to ask you some question on today's class."  
"Oh, well... some questions? Okay, please come in," Emerson let Lumina and Li in his office.  
Emerson guided the two students to the couch in the middle of the room, and seated them. When he sat down, he said, "Oh, you're Dr. Allison's daughter. I hear you're still sophomore."  
Lumina replied, "Yes, but I'm interested in elementary particles so I attended your class."  
"And this boy, you're not my class' student, either?"  
"No, I'm a junior student at Green Hills university. I'm studying physics and of course I attend elementary particles class. To strengthen my understanding, I attended the same subject in another university, excuse me," Li said.  
"Ha ha ha, even in the rain, today is a good day I have such enthusiastic students," giant Emerson laughed with joy.  
Furthermore, answering Lumina's question, Emerson talked very happily. He was totally impressed that Lumina had sufficient knowledge of his subject even though she was still sophomore. Taking advance of this mood, Li and Lumina shifted into investigation.

Even in the investigation mode, Emerson talked to them very friendly. To the question whether he is Dr. Allison's archrival, he answered yes with a smile. In his response, he took Michael Allison as his archrival because he admitted him as a skillful scientist. Because the two scientists studied almost the same subject, sometimes a big discussion occurred from slight differences in their opinions, and sometimes got mad when the other one came out with the research paper a little earlier. But he ensured that he never envied or bore a grudge against Lumina's father.

The two students got unexpected information as well. It's about the paranormal studies laboratory in the outskirts of town. That laboratory was own by Emerson's son named Dwight Emerson, 35 years old. He had a mansion, which he remodeled as his researching facilities. According to Dr. Emerson Senior's story, the paranormal studies lab isn't the true name of his laboratory. His main interest was in applied physics like nuclear fusion power generation, but the paranormal studies were his pastime. When they asked him about the paranormal studies club at the university, Dr. Emerson said that he had never heard of it.

"Allow me to advise you this, Li." Emerson started.  
"What could it be, Dr. Emerson?"  
"You know Dr. Allison is worrier about his daughter. Hanging around with Lumina, please don't make him sick worrying, okay?"  
"Oh, What are you talking about, Dr. Emerson? This is not it," Lumina nervously laughed.  
"Hey, you two aren't loving couple, are you?"  
"No, we're just friends. He has his own precious person other than me," Lumina giggled.  
"Ha ha ha, that must be a very relief to your father," giant Emerson laughed.

* * *

Surprisingly, Margaret O'Reilly visited the temporary office, when Li and Lumina were out. Sakura answered the visitor, "Yes, what do you want?"  
The uninvited visitor was escorted by a boy, not Ted FitzGerald, who held two umbrellas. One was hers and the other was the escort's—both of which were wet—implying that it was still raining.  
"I just came here to say hello," Margaret replied with a grin. "Some said that a seminar room in the physics department was rearranged for some reason."  
"Yes, it is all for us. Dr. Matthews prepared the place for the joint research between Freedstone University and Green Hills University."  
"You better not underrate me," the provocative girl stepped closer to Sakura straightly looking into her eyes. "Joint research, huh?"  
Sakura was overwhelmed by the unexpected visitor, sweatdropping.  
"It's okay for your partner, but you are in the department of archeology. I know it. How can I believe the joint research? I know you're investigating Lumina Allison's case."  
"What if your guess is true?" Sakura asked. "Are you planning to disturb the investigation?"  
"Search me. A lot of people might misunderstand me, but I don't like unfairness," Margaret chuckled. "Oh, I'm not too kind if I give you this advice."  
"What?"  
"Be careful of Lumina Allison," Margret whispered. "Is your boyfriend acting different recently? If he is... he is beginning to get bewitched."  
Margaret grinned evilly before going away with her escort in the hallway.

* * *

Getting back to the temporary office with Lumina, Li reported the investigation to Sakura that they succeeded hearing about the paranormal studies lab in the suburbs. However, even though Dr. Emerson talked them friendly, Li didn't totally believe him who said he never envied Dr. Allison.  
"I can't tell if he was lying about Dr. Allison in front his daughter," Li said. "Yeah, there're sly grown-ups," Sakura sadly sighed.  
"Next year, you will be able to find out the truth," Li said to Lumina.  
"How?"  
"Attend his class, and if you fail the credit he actually hates your Dad," Li said with a smirk.  
"Hey, Li, stop joking like that!" Lumina laughed.  
Sakura wondered if he had ever showed me this joking attitude so far. _Come to think of, this looks like... the way Tori teased me in every morning._

* * *

Later on that night, Lumina told Li and Sakura that she wanted to work alone for a day or two. When Li questioned her if the temporary office wouldn't work for her, she answered that on the weekend it had been okay but on weekdays she could be disturbed by the noise from the research room. In the day time, students and assistants come in and out the research room, and after dark the student continued chit-chat until around 8 in the evening. Of course, such noise was bearable for her in the normal condition, but now when someone could be after her, she is so sensitive that any noise can disturb her.  
"I haven't been back home since last weekend," Lumina said.  
"You better not go back to your apartment, or you could be ambushed," Li said.  
"Hey, why do you want to work all alone, Lumina?" Sakura gently asked.  
"I need to hurry," Lumina replied. "Tonight, I got an e-mail from Dad. According to the message, he'll come out in a few days. I've got something to do before seeing him."  
"What's something you have to do?" Li asked in a strong attitude.  
"Sorry, I can't tell you now. But trust me," Lumina begged, clasping her hands like a prayer.  
"Just a minute," Li said.

Li and Sakura talked together at the other side of the office. First, it seemed that Li and Sakura had different opinions; they argued. Li sounded like he wanted Lumina nearby so he can protect her. In Sakura's opinion, they have to think up of a place for Lumina to work as she wanted, but not her apartment. A few minutes later, Sakura picked up her cell phone and made a call. When she finished talking on the phone, Sakura talked to her partner.  
"See, Li? There are always choices."  
"All right, Sakura," Li calmly nodded his head, as he walked to Lumina.  
"Okay, Lumina, we're sending you to Madison Taylor's residence. You pack everything you need for your work."

In response to Li's direction, Lumina tried to copying the data attached to the new e-mail to her memory stick. The copying was a simple job of drag'n'drop; however, a simple job like that could be mistaken in a hurry.  
"Shoot, not this one," Lumina mumbled in a frustration. By mistake, she dropped the icon of the file in the SD memory card folder. She took out the memory card out of the slot and put it in the drawer of the desk, before retrying to copy the data file into her memory stick.  
"Okay, now I got all the data I need in my laptop and this memory stick for a backup."


	7. Chapter 6: Lumina's Fault

Sorry for Cardcaptors haters:

This fanfiction is wirtten with the character names as Cardcaptors. So Sakura Kinomoto is referred to as Sakura Avalon, and Li Syaoran as Li Showron.

**Scientific Wizard Agency**

**Chapter 6: Lumina's Fault**

Lumina was seated in the backseat of the white Mercedes driven by Madison's bodyguards bound for Taylor's residence. She took her laptop and some memory sticks with her. About 20 minutes after she left Freedstone University, she found that she had left the SD memory card received at Krudeland University.  
"I forgot!" Lumina screeched.  
"Miss, there's something wrong? Shall we return?" the driver asked.  
"Sorry, it's nothing. No, thank you. Please keep on the way to Madison's house," blond-haired girl replied.  
She sighed to soothe herself and thought, "That's okay. I read all the data and stored them in my laptop. The attackers are currently after me and the theory; they must be struggling to get it. I don't have much time—how long do I need to finish my work?"

The Mercedes entered the garden through the gateway of Taylor's residence, subsequently running on the path to the porch. As the car screeched the brake to stop, the front door opened and Madison walked out of the house with two housekeeping maids. The time was already 11:30 p.m.  
"Good evening, Madison," Lumina greeted stepping out of the Mercedes.  
"Good evening, Lumina. My house is a safer place than the university. Please come on in," Madison took the long-haired girl into the house, pushing the back.  
"I'm sorry for causing so much bother," Lumina apologized to her friend when she was stepping up the stairs.  
She was guided to a room on the second floor, as Madison said, "You can use this room. I presume you are very tired. So take a shower and go to bed, Lumina."  
"Thank you very much, Madison."

* * *

Next morning, Sakura exclaimed with a joy during checking her e-mail reception. "Li, we got data from Vicky! Come on."  
Li jogged to the desk she was working at, "Did she have some actors from various counties pronounce the lines and record their voice?"  
"Yep, the data contains a lot of voice patterns of different accent," she joyfully looked in the list of files. "I hope we'll be able to identify the flattened accent from the guy who attacked Lumina last week. Now, we'll be busy today."  
"Okay, let's get the intonation pattern of those data," Li said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lumina was frantically writing equations on the whiteboards aligned in the room assigned for her. Now there was no one else in the room. Perhaps, bodyguards were standing at the door to the room. She had been working without sleeping; her eyes were bloodshot. Holding in her left hand the graphs of experimental data she printed out, she scribbled and scribbled the equations with symbols such as creation and annihilation operators—looking like hieroglyphs—on one of the whiteboard and onto another. Occasionally, she paused and stepped back, looking at the Feynman diagram she had drawn—with some straight line and wavy lines—at the bottom left corner. Comparing the diagram and the equations with her bloodshot keen eyes, she curled up her mouth.

"I'm almost there!"  
She strode closer to whiteboard, picked up a red marker, as she cancelled the terms on the equation with crimson backslashes. Subsequently writing an equal symbol, she then continued the equation, until she wrote Q.E.D. whispering to herself, "quad erat demonstrandum," and chuckled.  
"That explains it! My mathematical form can succeed in giving the explanation to the experimental data... heh heh heh..."  
She staggered backward and collapsed onto the bed on her back, giggling.  
"Yes, my theory is completed!"  
Her giggle gradually grew, but finally turned into a high-pitched laugh.  
There were bangs on the door. "Miss, what's the matter?! Are you all right?!"  
The bodyguards worried about what just happened in the room, talking to the girl inside.  
"I'm all right. Please call Madison here!" She answered with a heavy sigh.

* * *

Sakura and Li worked in extracting all the intonation patterns from the data for three hours.  
"Right, the extracting process is finished," Li said with a heavy sigh.  
"Let's take break, before getting down to the matching process," Sakura suggested.  
"Okay, I'll go get some coffee," Li jumped on his feet.

_She has become a hard worker right after she got the SD memory card at Krudeland University. Moreover, she got in a hurry as soon as she received an e-mail from her father._  
Li felt something unfulfilled about the change of Lumina's attitude. He didn't quite understand what made her hurry that way.  
"Hey, Sakura, is it just me, or Lumina's found something important in Dr. Allison's e-mail? She didn't tell us what was written in it."  
"Something important?" Sakura repeated the phrase in an asking intonation.  
"It was all of a sudden last night that she insisted she leave the office. Besides, she said Dr. Allison will come out in a few days. What will happen when he appears? What's she preparing by the time of his appearance?" Li shrugged.  
"Are you worried about her?" Sakura looked into Li's face and asked.  
"Uh... yes," Li replied, "there's no problem about the security cause she's now in Madison's mansion, but I kind of worry that she keeps working without sleeping."  
"I don't have a clue what she has to work that hard for," Sakura looked by a side glance at the desk Lumina had been working until the day before. "Lumina's father's research is so crucial and dangerous that someone evil is eager to obtain in hand?"  
"Maybe it's beyond our understanding, at least for me and you," Li replied. "Uh, well, now let's start what we have to do. Shall we start the matching process of the intonation patterns."  
"Okay, today's work will totally rely on Zachary's software. I don't think there's a part for the Star Cards to play their roles," Sakura giggled.

* * *

Madison Taylor ran into the room in the residence where Lumina is waiting for. Lumina was lying on the bed with her blond long hair running across her face, surrounded by the sheets of paper with graphs and equations printed on them.  
"Lumina, did you stay up all night working?" Madison asked her with half worried and half disgusted manner.  
"Yeah, but..." She pointed the whiteboard, "I came to the conclusion."  
"Great! You should have a good sleep, then..."  
"No, I'm not through, yet, Madison. I still got what I have to do."  
_What is this girl trying to do after she found something encrypted in those equations?_  
"I want you to prepare a relay station..." Lumina restarted talking to Madison.  
"What...? Relay station...? Of the television or something?"  
"Not such a big one... I just want to..." she whispered in Madison's ear.

* * *

"Holy cow!" Li shouted at the matching result they calculated between intonation patterns extracted from the voice data. The voice was ascribed to actors from various regions, such as New York, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and even Hawaii, London, Tokyo, and more.  
"It's a good idea to compare the voice patterns of people from many cities," Ken Matthews who just came to check the result said impressed.  
"But the attackers' intonation doesn't show so high ratio of likeness with any regions' accent," Li said.  
"Some region's accent sure sound flattened like the attacker's speech, though," Sakura added. "More interesting is the the attackers' speech is most similar to the monotone speech spoken by amateur lousy actor."  
"Hey, does that mean the attacker weren't for real, they're just playing a lousy drama?" Ken asked in astonishment.  
"Yes, but there's more. We found the attacker spoke in a different accent in one moment," Li said when he clicked the play button, as the sound recorded by Lumina was played.

Don't scream, I'm warning. (attacker's voice)  
Nnngh! (Lumina's groan)  
Hey, ah ya hidin' somethin'?! (attacher's voice)  
Leave me alone! Who do you thing you're attacking? (Lumina's voice)  
We haven't got much time. Take her into the car. (attacker's voice)

"Here," Li explained, "the attacker spoke in southern accent saying 'are you hiding something' unlike the other part. I guess the attackers were speaking as the script made up in advance, but the 'are you hiding something' was not in the script. He must have talked in response to see Lumina's moves."  
"Southern accent in the middle of flattened accent, that made you feel sure their attacking was just pretending, right, Li?" Ken asked with his arms crossed.  
"That's right. I didn't even suspect that the attack was a fake at first," Li regretfully said. "Then what did the attacker played such a cheap drama for?"  
"The simplest scenario can be Ted FitzGerald," Sakura said, "he made up the script for making friends with Lumina... for retrieving information on Dr. Allison."  
"So we gotta catch FitzGerald and question him," Li said, walking in a frustrated manner.  
"Not so fast, Li," Ken warned him, "There's no sufficient objectivity about the attackers' accent leading to FitzGerald's evil plot. At this rate, he can evade our questions."  
"Hmm, you're right," Li agreed.  
"We have to wait for him to take another evil step," Sakura bit her lip.

* * *

Lumina woke up and found she had dozed off for an hour while she was working with her laptop. It was about four o'clock in the morning. After all, she hadn't had little sleep the day before, so she was very sleepy.  
"Maybe my work will be done in a few hours," she thought. "When I'm through with it, I'll go back to Freedstone University to see Li and Sakura."  
At this time, Lumina received an e-mail. She checked the newly received mail as she gasped in an impact of surprise.  
"What?! The mail from Dad again," She got surprised. Reading the e-mail message, her surprise grew bigger, because it was the same mail as she received right before she left Freedstone university.  
"Could that be..." her eyes opened wider, as sweat come out from the head.  
"Someone might have resolved the password inspired by the speed of light. The SD memory card I obtained in Krudeland University is stolen?"  
First she didn't want to believe the SD card was stolen, but soon she remembered one thing.  
"Oh, no, I left it at the temporary office. I suspect that the office was broken in!"

At the very moment, Lumina's cell phone rang. She picked it up and answered; it was from Sakura who was upset.  
"Our temporary office was broken in!" Sakura said in a fast speech, "Sorry we were careless, we were all out of the office last night. The culprit must have been watching us and waiting for the time to break in. However, because you took away all the data with you laptop, luckily none of the crucial data was stolen."  
"Ohhh... Sakura, I just have to say this but..." Lumina started to talk with a shiver of guilty feelings, "I left the SD memory card at the office."  
"What? Is it possible that the culprit has found it?"  
"D-definitely yes," Lumina answered in panic, "Now I just received an e-mail, the same mail I just received before I came over to here Madison's house. I am really... sorry... that's the sign that the culprit has already resolved the password!" "What?!"  
"I'm sorry. I'm coming to the temporary office to see you and Li," Lumina hang up.

_ What should I do? Did I do anything else stupid?  
Remember what I did the day before I came to Madison's house.  
That night I received an e-mail from Dad, and I downloaded the data attached to it. What did I do with the attached data? I just copied it in this memory stick... Wait a minute, I kind of remember I failed copying first... and I retried copying. What kind of failure? What did I do...?  
Oh my God! The failure was... I stored the data in the SD memory card by mistake! That means... now the culprit has all the data in hand. I hope the culprit has not resolved the password to the final data..._

"I blew it! Excuse me, Ms. bodyguard, please drive me to Freedstone University right away!" Lumina frantically said with tears.

* * *

Lumina and Madison hopped in the backseat of the White Mercedes. The car runs fast in the street of the early morning head to the university. Lumina carried her laptop and memory sticks. Even though she was almost crying with guilty feeling, she continued working with the laptop.

The car came and stopped at the parking space in the university, Lumina, Madison, and two of Madison's bodyguards started moving to their temporary office in the physics department. Lumina holding her laptop was crying in the thoughts that her fault could even spoil her friends cooperation and her hard work.

In their way to the office, they bumped into Margaret O'Reilly and Ted FitzGerald. Margaret looked at provocative look and said, "Good morning, Lumina Allison. You are an early bird, but what are you crying for?"  
"I'm not crying! Let me through," Lumina said with a frustration.  
"Oh, why? You're wearing glasses today, Ted. You look different," Madison said to Ted.  
"Oh... I just..." Ted stammered in answer.  
"He lost his contact lens today. Just his luck," Margaret replied for him. "He looks different in glasses, and I think he looks better on contact lenses."  
"We're in a hurry, excuse me!" Lumina said, as the group restarted to run toward the office.

Lumina swung the door to the office open; Sakura, Li, and Ken were waiting inside. From the fatigue from her hard work, she tripped at the doorway and fell. Li caught her falling in his chest.  
"Wh- I'm sorry, I'm such a klutz..." Lumina blushed in still-crying face.  
By just one pulse, Li felt heart beat was so intense that he couldn't look at her straightly. He averted his eye from her, taking her laptop from her unstable arms, and then whispered, "Be careful, Lumina. This is all the work you've done."

In that scene before her eyes, Sakura felt sick thinking of the change of Li's attitude those days. "She's a vampire," Margaret O'Reilly whispered in Sakura's mind. "He's beginning to get bewitched."  
_What am I thinking? He just caught her when she tripped and fell. That's all there's to it._

By a glance at Sakura in a sad mood, Li stepped backward. Then as the natural subsequence, Lumina fell on the ground.  
"Why me..." Lumina groaned scratching the ground. But this unexpected bad treatment recovered her from crying mood, anyway.

Ken began explaining the scene of the crime, "Someone broke in the office last night. He looked for something, and during his search he broke the glass on the bookshelves before running away."  
Li continued, "You left the SD memory card in the office, Lumina. Do you remember where it was?"  
"Yes, in the drawer," she opened the drawer and confirmed the SD memory card was truly stolen.  
"This is all my fault. I'm sure they have the SD card including the final data in hand and they have resolved the first password."  
"What do you mean by the first password," Li asked.  
"You remember the multilayered password block Madison called?" Lumina explained, "The first password is the one I demonstrated to resolve by the speed of light. I got the same e-mail this morning as I got when I resolved the first password; that means they succeeded in resolving the first password."  
"And the SD memory card contains the final data as well, right?" Sakura said in a lowered voice.  
"Sorry, that's my stupid mistake. Now, they can access the final data if they've resolved the second password."  
"They haven't resolved it yet, right?" Madison asked.  
"I hope not..." Lumina cried.  
"If they haven't resolved it, they should contact us with some evil action," Ken said.  
"Dr. Matthews is right. We gotta find a key to put them into a corner, from this scene of the crime." Li turned and handed his handkerchief to Lumina, whispering, "So stop crying, Lumina. It's not all your fault. We all had a mistake that we left the office last night. When you were out, we took our guard down."

"I... I'm going to look for Ted FitzGerald," Sakura started out.  
"No, we haven't gotten enough evidence," Li tried to calm her down.  
"We'll find it when we get him and question him," she continued.  
"Stop. Calm down, Sakura! Breaking in the office, he must have left some clue in this room. It's a good opportunity for us to get their track."  
"We're wasting time. They can resolve the password in any minute! I'm off!"  
"Don't. If he is truly the one who did it, it's dangerous!" Li warned.  
"I have a skill to do with the danger, you know. At least, you should worry about the delicate girl beside you," Sakura ran out of the office.

"What's she mad at?" Li stood in a puzzled look.  
"Is she all right?" Ken asked in a worrying tone.  
"Sakura will be all right," Madison said. She turned to Li and said to him in a strong attitude for her, "Above all, don't you forget Sakura worked very hard in the case? Did you say thank you or something to her these days? You and Sakura have been together for a long time—such a long time and so close—that you can lose care for her before you know it."

As a response to Madison's words, Li began walk around the room without a word and looked up at the ceiling for a while. He looked down about 30 seconds later, then he talked slowly:  
"Yeah... Madison... I may be wrong... I better look for her."  
When Li was about to run, Madison took his hand to yank his arm slightly, as she shook her head.  
"No, Li. Give her a time to think. She will calm herself down in an hour, and be back here instead of taking the risk."


	8. Chapter 7: Lumina in Chase

Sorry for Cardcaptors haters:

This fanfiction is wirtten with the character names as Cardcaptors. So Sakura Kinomoto is referred to as Sakura Avalon, and Li Syaoran as Li Showron.

**Scientific Wizard Agency**

**Chapter 7: Lumina in Chase**

Li told the members that the attacker left some marks in their temporary office during his intrusion. _Why did the attacker have to break the glass on the bookshelves_, Li didn't feel it consistent. _When breaking in, the attacker unlocked the door with lock picking, without damaging the lock or breaking the window. Why did a careful criminal like that have to break the glass inside?_

Madison reported her finding on the way, "Talking about Ted FitzGerald, he wears glasses today."

"Yes, Margaret O'Reilly said he lost his contact lens today someplace," Lumina added.

"When I talked to him," Madison continued, "he looked like he didn't want to tell us he lost it."

Li thought for a while with his arms crossed without a word, until he shouted:

"On the floor! Everybody look for his track on the floor!"

Ken asked, "His track? You mean..."

"Yes, contact lens!" Li replied confidently.

"But... I don't know when we'll ever find a small thing like a contact lens," Lumina whined.

"Lumina, if you still have work on your laptop, you do that job," Li said, "Rest of us look for the contact lens left on the floor."

"But..." Lumina murmured.

"Li is right. You're doing the special job only you can do," Ken gently said to her.

"Trust me, we'll find it in a few minutes," Li said.

In a few minutes?! Everybody in the room except Li thought it impossible. But they began working their jobs as Li told.

Lumina was working with her laptop on the desk, and the rest of the members were crawling on the floor to look for the contact lens. When he made sure that they are doing their own work, Li secretly took out his incantation card, concentrating on imaging a contact lens dropping out of FitzGerald's eye. "Force know my plight release the light. Find it," he whispered. Next moment, something glittered in front of Ken.

"I found something," Ken exclaimed.

"Don't pick it up with your hand! Use tweezers!" Li said, handing him a pair of tweezers.

Picking it up onto a handkerchief, they checked what Ken just found. It was a contact lens!

"Li, could that be your magic?" Madison whispered in Li's ear.

"Yeah, for finding missing articles," Li secretly answered with a smile.

* * *

Sakura was standing with her back on the chain-link fence, crying silently. She had reconsidered and thought that catching Ted FitzGerald was thoughtless. Sakura was questioning herself:

_Why do I think that way. I certainly think Li acts different since Lumina appeared. Besides, she didn't do anything wrong. I know she is not a vampire as the way Margaret O'Reilly talks of her. As Li's attitude is changing, maybe I will turn hating Lumina... I hate myself thinking that way. Actually, she is a good girl; I know from the talk with her on the rooftop the other day, though._

At this moment, Sakura found someone walking 200 feet away. That's FitzGerald! She hid behind a building not to be found by him. He isn't escorting Margaret O'Reilly. What in the world is he doing?

Sakura decided to follow him to check what he is up to. First she thought he would walk to the paranormal studies club; however, he seemed to watch the office of L&S Detective Agency from a distance, as if he was waiting for the timing of something.

Whether he reconsidered something or not, he started walking off. Sakura followed him behind buildings and trees. Where's he going? He walked around the building to the back, and began stepping up the fire escape. Secretly following him, Sakura was the foot of the fire escape. At this moment there was a thud behind her. What?!

"Hi, girl, what do you want from me?"

Shoot! It was Ted FitzGerald. He just jumped off the second flight to get the back of Sakura.

She opened her mouth without sound in astonishment.

"You are the one who's been tagging around Lumina," he said walking around her.

"Although I want to ask Lumina out," he continued, "the bodyguards escorting her just prevent me from getting closer to her."

Sakura could use the Windy Card bind him motionless, but she decided to take another choice.

If I get captured by him, he could use me as a hostage to get her. In other words, he could take another silly move as long as I'm with him. Ha, it's rather a funny story that a Cardcaptor was captured.

"Well, is it you that resolve the password—the nine-digit number—last night?" Sakura asked Ted.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Ted replied.

"Hmm, another question. Did you find something important in Dr. Matthews' seminar room last night?"

Ted kept quiet.

"I know you want to have Lumina Allison, but not me. What do you want from her? You want to confess your feeling of your romance toward her, or for another purpose?"

* * *

In the temporary office of L&S Detective Agency, the members were talking to the next step to take.

"This contact lens can explain why the glass of the bookshelves had to be broken. The intruder must have lost his contact lens—this one—in this room. He broke the glass to camouflage this contact lens," Li explained.

"Hey, are you going to prove this contact lens belong to FitzGerald?" Madison asked.

"Ideally yes, but it's not necessary," Li replied with a grin. "This contact lens can withdraw the truth out when I question Ted FitzGerald. Now, it's time to find him."

Lumina tapped Madison on the shoulder and whispered, "I'm ready. How about the relay station?"

"Don't worry, all set."

At this minute, Margaret O'Reilly came in the office.

"Hey, what's your partner supposed to do?!"

"Margaret O'Reilly, what are you talking about? What're you doing here?" Lumina barked at her.

"I just saw your partner taking off driving with my boyfriend," Margaret talked to Li angrily.

"You mean Ted FitzGerald?" Li asked.

"Yes, she was in the passenger's seat. I saw!"

"Oh, no. Sakura herself contacted him. How reckless," Madison said with her right hand on the mouth.

"Ted FitzGerald is surely after me! I should be the one who's captured by now," Lumina said walking up to Margaret. "We gotta chase them to rescue her!"

"Don't blame on yourself, Lumina," Madison said gently to soothe her.

She turned to Li and whisper, "Hey, Li, I wonder if Sakura is in danger."

"She should have been more careful, but she knows what she's got to do. Even if she's in danger, she can handle it," Li answered. "I have faith in her."

"Do you know where they're going?" Li asked Margaret.

"How should I know?" Margaret looked the other way with her arms crossed.

Li just saw a shadow of something for a moment; then he gasped to know what it was.

"Oh, the Shadow Card she must be using! I can track the shadow."

Li walked up to and talked to Margaret, "I somehow know where they're going. Drive us to follow them by your car."

"Are you sure? But there're too many people to fit in my Maserati," Margaret said.

"Don't worry, we have one more car," Li said.

* * *

In Margaret's Maserati, Marget sat in the driver's seat, Lumina in the passenger's seat, and Li in the backseat. In Madison's Mercedes, Madison and Ken sat in the backseat, and the two bodyguards in the driver's and passenger's seats.

"You guys, make sure you fastened your seatbelt," Margaret directed arrogantly when she turned on the engine.

"Ummm, are you going to burn up the road? I'd love it if you drive safely," Lumina said with a nervous laugh.

"Shut up, Lumina Allison. I know you don't have much time, do you."

Li checked out of the window if he can see Sakura's shadow. The shadow was blinking in Li's eyes. Probably it was invisible to the people without magic, or to muggles in Harry Potter terminology.

Thank God, it's sunny today and the Shadow Card works actively, Li thought.

"We're ready," Li motioned Margaret to start the car.

"Okay, hang in there," Margaret said, as the car growled before starting off with a steep acceleration with a skid.

"Hey, drive your car a little milder," Li said to Margaret, "in case the Mercedes behind us lost the sight of us."

"Okay, okay, but it's not thrilling, though," Margaret mumbled a complaint.

"I guess they are going to the paranormal studies lab in the outskirts of town. Do you know where it is?" Li asked the driver.

"I don't know its place," she answered. "I know Ted visits a fishy researching lab from time to time. Actually, I've been investigating him with a suspicion that he spends money to keep in touch with those crazy freaks."

"I'm glad to hear that at least today you're my co-worker investigating the same subject," Li said to the amber-haired girl. "Uh, please turn left at the next intersection."

"Next intersection, alright," Margaret replied.

* * *

On the other hand, Sakura was in the passenger seat of the car driven by Ted. It was almost 10 miles away from the university.

"Now that you've gotten me as a hostage, so could you tell me the truth? You need to resolve the second password blocking the final data of Dr. Allison's experiment?" Sakura asked.

"Uhh... that's okay," Ted said, "We need Lumina for resolving the password."

"We...?" Sakura asked in response. "There's someone behind you, huh?"

"He is a young scientist. He would like to apply Dr. Allison's theory of physics for people. He can channel the academic result to the engineers to materialize it."

"Who is HE?"

"You'll see him today, he's Dr. Dwight Emerson."

"Dwight Emerson, he is Dr. Kyle Emerson's son," Sakura uttered the information she knew about him, "who received his Ph.D. at Axisford University, doing his research in Applied Physics alone not in the laboratory of a university or a private enterprise."

The car was running in the rural district.

"So how come you're working for him?" Sakura asked the driver.

"He approves the paranormal studies as a branch of science, not just the occult," Ted replied.

* * *

The red Maserati and the white Mercedes were running from the city to the rural area. The buildings on the sides of the streets were getting sparse as the time went by. Li was checking the way shown by Sakura's shadow. I bet Sakura is sure heading for the paranormal studies lab, the enemy's hide-out.

"Umm, is there truly the paranormal studies lab in this country side?" Lumina mumbled.

"I don't know! How should I know if the lab is in the boondocks, Lumina Allison!?" the driver said in an irritated manner.

"I didn't ask you! I just talked to myself, Margaret O'Reilly."

"Humph, don't get on my nerves. Why should I go out for a ride with Lumina Allison in the passenger's seat?! Hey, listen. You have that good-looking instructor sit in the passenger's seat on the way back home!" Margaret said to Lumina.

"Are you crazy? That's definitely no way!" Lumina furiously said the objection.

Li was regretful that he let Lumina get in the Maserati. These two girls are fighting as long as they see each other. I wonder if Sakura is in their hide-out by now.

"We are almost there at the paranormal studies lab," Ted said to Sakura. "I may as well call your partner to bring Lumina to the lab. So call him with your cell phone."

"There's no need."

"What?"

"I can't explain how, but he knows where we're going, and they now should be coming our way."

"How can you say that?"

"That's the L&S Detective Agency," Sakura grinned confidently.

* * *

Five minutes later, they saw a big house in the middle of farm land.

"That house over there," Ted pointed the big house in front of them. "Dr. Emerson remodeled the house into his private researching facilities."

Ted turned on the direction indicator to the right, as the car driven by Ted entered the garden path in a mansion. They could see another car—a green Jaguar—parked near beside the house. When Ted and Sakura got out of the car, someone also got of the Jaguar. It was a man around 60 with gray hair and thick beard and mustache, wearing glasses dressed in a butler's suit.

"A little later than I thought," he said. "Oh, it isn't Lumina Allison... so you must be the one of the student detectives that's been investigation her case."

"Yeah, I'm Sakura Avalon from L&S Detective Agency," Sakura said to the man.

"All right, Miss, please come on in," the man in the butler's suit motioned her to come with him. "Dr. Dwight Emerson is waiting. Let me guide you there."

* * *

About 15 minutes after Ted and Sakura arrived at the paranormal studies lab, Li's group came to the same place in the garden. They got off the car and looked around, when they have no idea of where to go. At this minute, the front door opened and a man in a butler's suit around the age of 60 with gray hair and thick beard and mustache walked out.

"Welcome to Dr. Emerson's Applied Physic Laboratory."

He walked up beside Lumina and whisper, "Miss Lumina Allison, I got a message from your father." The man in a butler suit gave her a card. On checking the card, she almost fell over as if she got sidestepped.

"What's the matter?" Li asked.

"Ughhh... nothing... heh heh heh..." She nervously laughed.

"What's in the card?"

"Ummm... sorry, not now, but I'll explain it later."

"Be careful, Allison. Ladies shouldn't fall in public no matter how you're amazed, especially when you're wearing a skirt," Margaret coldly commented.

"Your company is already inside waiting for you to come here," the man said in a gentle manner. "Let me guide you to the place Dr. Emerson is waiting, so please follow me."

"What in the world... I didn't even expect we would be welcomed this way," Li feels as if his tension was wrenched, laughing nervously.

Lumina looked sheepish and kind of laughed nervously like Li, when he took a glimpse at her.

"I hope Sakura is all right," Li said to Lumina.

"At this rate, she's safe and sound," she replied.

They walked in the corridor made of oak, dimly lit with antique lamps. The wall was covered with plaster. It was hard to believe that house was used as the scientific researching laboratory. The man in a butler's suit guided the group to the living room in the house. He knocked on the oak door and opened it, as he said, "I brought Lumina Allison and her company."

"How should I be Lumina Allison's company, pah!" Margaret mumbled a complaint.

There was a huge mahogany table in the middle of the room. Tall young man around the age of 35 was seated at the back. He must be Dwight Emerson, Li thought. Hey, Sakura is seated. Thank God, she looks safe, Li sighed with a relief.

The man in the back stood up and said, "Welcome, Lumina Allison and student detectives. I'm happy to see you here. Well, let's get down to the business."


	9. Chapter 8: Lumina's Decision

Sorry for Cardcaptors haters:

This fanfiction is wirtten with the character names as Cardcaptors. So Sakura Kinomoto is referred to as Sakura Avalon, and Li Syaoran as Li Showron.

**Scientific Wizard Agency**

**Chapter 8 Lumina's Decision**

In the big house in the suburbs which Dr. Dwight Emerson used as the applied physics laboratory, people involved in Limuna's case including Lumina herself were gathered in the living room. The young scientist, Dwight Emerson stood up and announced to get down to the business. The college students gulped with anxious feelings about what he is up to.

"First of all... let's ask Dr. Allison," Dwight said, "are you going to work with me on the research on matter-antimatter annihilation?"  
"As I said before, my answer is no."  
The one who answered the question was the man with a thick beard and mustache wearing butler's suit. The students looked at the man with astonishment, except Lumina looking down at the table with embarrassment. Next minute, the man took off his false beard and mustache; consequently, he turned into Dr. Allison they knew from television programs.  
"Sorry, boys and girls. I was in disguise since I thought a big house like this needs a butler for welcoming guest," Dr. Allison explained.  
"Well, did Lumina know about this?" Li asked.  
"Duhh... sorry about my freaking Dad. When I got here he told me not to tell you the butler is actually Dad, by this message card," Lumina said with embarrassment, showing them the message card received from the butler.

"I tell you one more time, Dr. Allison," Dwight said to Dr. Allison. "Your research on the annihilation will be the solution to the problems of energy resources. The energy resources are the crucial problematic issues for human-kind in the future. I can channel your theory of physics to the engineers who will be able to materialize it."  
"Let me ask you, Dwight," Michael Allison asked in return, "What kind of engineers are you going to channel my theory of physics?"  
"Engineers of electric power plants," the Dwight answered.  
"Is that so?" Michael Allison sniffed and narrowed his eyes. "I want to ask student detectives, but do you have any information about the connection he has established?"  
Li raised his hand before reporting, "Dwight Emerson has established his personal connection by his academic activity such as attending academic conferences. His academic activity is more internationally oriented rather than domestic. In these years, he keeps in close touch with the research group in Israel."  
"Israeli research group..." Michael Allison nodded his head and said, "impressive for you, the student detective, to obtain the information. Hmm, do you have any additional information what kind of group the Israelis are?"  
Madison raised her hand, "This case was investigated as a joint investigation between L&S Detective Agency and Taylor Group. Taylor Group has found that the Israeli group has a fishy connection with smuggler groups of weapons. Those smuggler groups take their moves in Middle East and North African countries."  
Subsequently, Margaret raised her hand, glared at Ted, and talked, "I report that O'Reilly Group has found money flows from the Israeli research group to Dwight Emerson's laboratory."  
"Wow, much more than I expected, superb," Michael sang the praise of the information. "So fishy. Dwight, no matter how hard you explain you have no relations with weapon smuggling, it's so fishy that I can reject the joint research with your laboratory. Matter-antimatter annihilation generates 100 times greater powers than hydrogen nuclear fusion. That can be the seed for a weapon for mass destruction."

Dwight banged on the table and said, "Don't you remember? We already have the SD memory card including your final data, thanks to your intelligent daughter that left it in the vacant room."  
"But you haven't resolved the final password yet," Lumina said to Dwight. "If you have resolved the password and understood what the data means, you can explain the data and the theory of physics to your friends in Israel."  
"This pretty girl is right. I haven't resolved the password yet. I want Dr. Allison or his daughter to tell me the correct password. Please come," he motioned Lumina to come closer.  
She shook her head; however, two boys came into the room and took her by the shoulder dragging her closer to Dwight Emerson.  
"Those guys... the presence I sensed in the paranormal studies club the other day", Sakura thought.  
"No, let me go. Take your lousy hands off me!" Lumina shouted.  
Dwight, Ted taking Sakura, and the two guys dragging Lumina were now at the corner of the room. Next minute, a glasswall grew from the floor to separate them from the rest of the people. The evils just took Sakura and Lumina as the hostage.

"What the heck are you trying to do?!" The three men jumped and kept banging of the transparent wall. The wall is tough.  
"Ha ha ha, bulletproof glass, people," Dwight laughed.  
_If they are about to hurt her, I gotta use the Star Card. There's no other choices, then._ Sakura thought.

Dwight motioned Ted to prepare the LCD projector to show the password dialog to the people. The dialog to the final password was as follows:

The theory and experimental data are my daughter's hand.  
You cannot take them no matter how hard you try.  
That's because you can't catch her.  
She moves fast thanks to the ability of her own particle.  
What's her own particle? (A)  
The reason why you think so:  
The particle is (B) .  
Put an adjective for the blank (B).

"Interesting quiz, Dr. Allison. The first password should be 'photon' because it travels faster than anything. But I haven't thought up of the second password. Tell me that!"  
"Are you sure? Graviton travels at the speed of light, too," Ken said.  
"How about neutrino?" Ted mumbled.  
"Don't try to confuse me! The first one is 'photon.' I'm sure of it," Dwight shouted.  
"What do you want to do if I don't tell you the password?" Michael Allison asked in a low voice.  
Dwight opened his eyes wider evilly, "Do you want to see your precious daughter dead?"

"What an evil man he is! For his own sake!" the people shouted with anger.  
A touch-and-go situation! Li and Sakura gulped and prepared their magic.

"Go ahead if you really want to. Kill her," Michael Allison coldly replied.  
"What kind of father are you, idiot? You're killing your own daughter!" Lumina shouted.  
"This guy is more insane than the guy across the wall," Li sweatdropped.  
"A-are you crazy? You're abandoning your own daughter," Dwight was astonished with the unexpected answer from Dr. Allison.  
Michael continued, "Killing my daughter means you're going to lose any possibility to get what you want."  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
"I'm just the experiment conductor. The novel theory of annihilation was formulated by my girl under the hostage. She is the only one in the world who understands it."  
Dwight stepped back with astonishment, "Are you kidding? Are you saying that the wonderful thoery was created by this young girl?"  
Dwight looked down on the floor a short while, until he looked desperately shouted. "Then I'll snatch her. She'll be working for me forever!"

Now, it's time for the magic... Sakura and Li were shifting to fighting mode, however...  
"That isn't so easy, Dr. Emerson Junior," Lumina said as she jumped out of his reach. "Now I don't know if my new mathematical formulation of matter-antimatter annihilation theory will cause a stong engineering improvement, but I just decided."  
All the people in the living room—both the good and the evil—looked at Lumina speaking with a determined look.  
"Human idea can apply the principle in the universe to the good or the evil. That depends on the spirit of the inventors. Against such hideous possibilities, new academic accomplishment should be known to people all over the world, then the evil will never be the only one who can use the principle. I decided to publish my mathematical formulation to an international conference just right now."  
She winked at Madison beyond the transparent wall and said, "See Madison Taylor over there. She's holding my laptop, which contains the paper I've been struggling with for these few days. The paper claims my new mathematical formulation of annihilation, including the data from Dad's experiments. I'm submitting the paper just before your eyes, people."  
Lumina turned to Madison again, and motioned, "Click the send button, Madison."

Dwight laughed aloud and said, "Thank you, little girl, for your confident stage play. You should be a stage actress, but such a stupid plan won't work in the rural area. There's no Wi-Fi internet connection in this countryside, and your submission will not succeed. Cunning little girl, come with me!"  
At the very moment, Madison reported, "Submission is completed, Lumina!"  
"What?!"  
"I prepared relay stations for high speed wireless internet connection around here," Lumina said.  
"Yeah, the Wi-Fi connection in Taylor Group is much faster than the ordinary internet connection," Madison explained proudly.  
Dwight staggered backward from his fatigue.

_Now!_ Sakura and Li thought!  
"Storm Card!"  
"Ha!"  
Sakura's storm magic blew the evil people in a whirlpool and threw them to the other corner of the room. Li took his sword and slashed the bulletproof wall into pieces. Their moves were too smooth for the people to get aware what exactly happened. The evil were unconscious.

Li ran up to Sakura and said, "You were reckless to sneak in the hide-out all alone."  
At the next minute, Sakura felt a gentle pressure of arms of Li who caressed her. She heard him breathing. He whispered, "You did a good job, Sakura. I had faith in you that you can handle it even in a dangerous state."  
Sakura smiled in a relief and felt the warmness of the caress.

"Hey, what just happened? You gotta explain it," Margaret asked.  
"Uhhh... actually... Li is an expert kung-fu fighter, and I... am an expert of aikido..." Sakura explained stammeringly with a nervous laugh.  
Li nodded his head several times without saying a word.

* * *

Li and Sakura questioned Ted, while the other bad guys were sleeping under the Sleep Card's spell. He told that he worked for Dr. Emerson Junior because he rented the measurement instruments in reasonable cost. But he still hadn't admitted the suspicion of attacking and threatening call to Lumina, or even the suspicion of intruding the temporary office.  
"Why are you wearing glasses today?" Sakura asked.  
"I lost my contact lens."  
"Where did you lose it?"  
"I don't know."  
"Is this the one you lost in our temporary office?" Li showed him the contact lens found in the office.  
"Is that really mine?" Ted asked Li in return.  
"Okay, let us prove it. I need your hair or saliva for DNA identification," Li grinned.  
Ted turned silent, and kept quiet for a minute. But it was not long till he admitted all his suspicion. He said it was true he attacked Lumina and the office under the instruction from Dwight Emerson. Additionally, he said that he expected to go out on a date with Lumina taking advantage of himself being her knight on a white horse who saved her from attackers.

* * *

"Anyway, what's the final password to access the experimental data?" Li asked Lumina.  
"I don't want to explain it," she replied with annoyed manner.  
"I'll explain it," Dr. Allison showed them the filled blanks:

She moves fast thanks to the ability of her own particle.  
What's her own particle? (A)  photon   
The reason why you think so:  
The particle is (B)  luminous .

"The first password is the same as Dr. Emerson Junior presumed. But why is that word the second password?" Sakura asked in a puzzled look.  
"Read the last sentence aloud," Dr. Allison said.  
"The particle is luminous. Oh, I got it!" Madison exclaimed clasping her hands. "The particle is Lumina's. So your daughter's particle—Lumina's particle—is a luminous particle, or a photon. With the particle's ability, your daughter travels at the speed of light. That's why nobody can catch her!"  
"You accessed the final data, so you knew the final password, Lumina?" Sakura asked.  
"Of course, that's the meaning of my name," Lumina sighed.  
"Your name means the girl of light. Sounds like you're the Goddess of Light." Sakura smiled at her.

* * *

"Actually, L&S Detective Agency hasn't revealed one thing about this case," Li said walking clasping his hands on the back. "We haven't revealed the beginning. Lumina told us that your seclusion started almost the same time as when Dr. Matthews came to the university as a substitute instructor, and when someone suspicious began watching her."  
He walked around the room, meandering closer to the sixty-year-old man, "But you said in the message we found in your drawer that your seclusion had induced a bad thing you didn't even expect. I guess that freaking Dwight Emerson's crime was the induced bad thing you called in the message. Therefore, your seclusion didn't originally have the intention of complete the experimental results."

Dr. Allison sighed and smiled, "You're right. At first, my seclusion was a fake."  
"Fake? What for?" Sakura asked in response. She was surprised just like anyone else in the living room to hear his answer.  
"To test my disciple, Dr. Ken Matthews."  
"What were you planning to test him?" Lumina asked in astonishment.  
"Dr. Matthews got a new post as an instructor at Freedstone University. He told me that he would offer an appropriate place for Lumina's research. It was a good thing for her, but I couldn't help feeling anxiety."  
"Anxiety of what?" unfulfilled Lumina asked.  
"He is a good-looker just like my old days, and I was anxious that he might do something to make my daughter cry. That's why I faked a seclusion and watched her."  
"Nobody knows if he was a good-looker as he says, but he must have had a fling when he was young," Madison mumbled in a nervous smile, with a sweatdrop.  
"Dad, you were the one who had been watching me..." Lumina groaned.  
"Lumina, calm down, calm down..." Madison patted her on the back.  
"But that time, Dwight Emerson made a wrong guess that I was completing the new annihilation theory, because I had told him about the new mathematical formulation Lumina had been working on."  
"Then, do I pass the test, Dr. Allison?" Ken asked timidly.  
"You passed. You can prepare the place for Lumina's research. But be careful, she has to return home before the sunset," Dr. Allison talked like an alarmist.  
"And..." He turned to and pointed at Li, "This boy failed. He almost fell in love with her."  
"N-nooo!" Li blushed and denied with his arms swinging. "I didn't think of her that way, Sakura, I'm innocent. This guy is crazy!"  
"What did I tell you? He was beginning to get bewitched," Margaret said.

"Hey, talking about the way you persuaded Ted FitzGerald to make a confession," Lumina said to Sakura and Li, "it's impressive that you can do DNA identification!"  
"Uhh... sorry, it was a lie," Li said sheepishly, "in order to make him confess."  
"You've got a good gut to say that," Lumina said.  
"Same to you," Li said back to her, "to make that confident speech to the evil."

* * *

Lumina and the others were back in the Freedstone University, now the evil people including Ted were still sleeping.  
"This case turned out to be a serious case. It was a criminal case, I tell you. By the policy of L&S Detective Agency, you can tell the police or sue them for this case."  
Lumina tuned to look at her father for a few seconds until she talked, "I want to give them an opportunity to reform as sensible researchers. I'm sure Dad will give them their right place."  
Dr. Allison nodded as he said, "For Ted and the other two boys, I think I will accept them as admitted transfer students and put them in my lab or my disciple's lab. But Dr. Emerson Junior is a serious psycho... I wonder if there's a lab in Taylor's Group that will reeducate this guy before I take care of him."  
"Okay, I'll look for a right place for him," Madison said.

* * *

A week later, Sakura and Li were back in their original office in Green Hills Univeristy. That day, Lumina visited them to say thank you. She reported that the laboratories for accepting the three evil students were almost settled. Li and Sakura were kind of amazed since despite their serious offense she selected the other choice than suing them.  
"Actually, that is Dad's way to increase his disciples. Dad tends to accept his ex-enemy as his collegues or disciples. Now he has uncountable disciples in the country."  
"Wow, your Dad is generous unlike his way of speech," Sakura said.  
"Not really," Lumina shook her head, "placing them close to him, he monitors them. They're like prisoners or something, heh heh heh."

"By the way, your new mathematical formulation," Li said, "is it such a super theory that the evil is eager to obtain, even taking a risk?"  
"Hmm, I don't know," Lumina rolled her eyes, putting her head on her hands. "I just made it following my inspiration. I have no idea if it's such a big theory. But it's only a set of equations derived by a twenty-year-old girl. Besides, I know there are flaws in my theory. Perhaps, that evil Dwight guy was fooled by Dad's exaggeration."  
"Hey, when will you make an oral presentation of the paper you submitted?" Sakura asked.  
"Six month later," Lumina replied with a laugh, "I got to reinforce my theory by then."

"Anyway, I think I have to give you something to show my gratitude," Lumina changed the topic. "What do you accept as a reward?"  
"We don't need a reward," Sakura said smiling, "our detective agency is nonprofit organization."  
"But this case was a serious case, so I think I should give you something."  
"Okay," Li replied, "as a reward, I want you to give us the permission to use the voice data."  
"Voice data?" Lumina asked in return.  
"Yeah, the one you recorded when you're attacked by two guys. In the investigation, we found interesting intonation patterns, when the speaker is faking in accordance with the prepared scripts. If you give us the permission, we'd like to write a paper to present the intonation patterns."  
"Sounds interesting," Lumina smiled. "OK, you can use the voice data. Uh, do you need a license agreement certification with my signature?"


	10. Epilogue

**Scientific Wizard Agency**

**Epilogue**

Late October, Lumina came out of the building of the physics department. She felt happy that she just joined the seminar at Dr. Mathews' laboratory for graduated students. _It's fun to learn something new! The classes for sophomore students are boring to me._ Actually, it was the first day she attended the place prepared in Dr. Matthews' laboratory.

"Hi, Lumina, what's up?" Lumina heard Madison call her name, as she turned to look.  
"Listen, today is the first day for me at Dr. Matthews' laboratory. It was fun!"  
"Yeah, you sound very happy." Madison changed the topic, "By the way, I hear Dr. Emerson Senior visited your father last week to apologize for his son's insanity. But there was a scuffle later during his visit."  
"Yeah," Lumina replied, "but Dr. Emerson Senior said, 'I'm really sorry that my son was so stupid that he seriously took the mathematics formulated by a coed.' To hear him, Dad got furious immediately, so... that night, he came home with scratches on his face." Lumina sheepishly laughed.  
"Oh, your Dad and Emerson Senior are such good friends," Madison sarcastically said.  
"Those days when I was with L&S Detective Agency was pretty exciting. Sakura and Li were terrific couple, relying on each other," Lumina smiled looking up at the sky.  
"Thanks to you, Lumina, who nearly broke in between, now the bond between them is even tighter," Madison said the irony.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Heh heh heh, never mind."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Lumina, today I have something to ask you..." Madison put on starry eyes and turned to her clasping her hands on the back.  
"Wh-what is it...?" Lumina just got a bad feeling, but asked with a sweatdrop.  
"We'll have Freedstone Festival next month, right? Do you want to take part in Miss Freedstone Festival Competition, don't you, Lumina?"  
"No, I don't like it."  
"Why not?"  
"I kind of wonder if there's a swimsuit competitions," Lumina groaned.

"There's no such an old fashioned competition, silly. Miss Freedstone Festival Competition is the race of women with intelligence and heath as well as attractiveness," another voice came across. It was Margaret O'Railly who just walked by. "It may be lucky for you, Lumina Flat-Chesty Allison."  
"Shuddup, Margaret O'Reilly!" Lumina barked up in response. Next minute, she noticed that Margaret was escorted by another boy than Ted FitzGerald who was carrying her bag.  
"Well, uh... you've got a new escort to carry your bag, O'Reilly."  
"Not an escort, he's my boyfriend. I just met him and he's such a reliable man that he voluntarily carries my bag for me. That's a pretty woman's privilege, so to speak. I'm afraid you can't understand me that attracts boys' attention all the time," she sneered at Lumina.  
"Very funny, O'Reilly, what kind of joke is it?"  
"Hey, don't tell me you think you're prettier than me, huh? You lost me three years ago."  
"Not again..." Lumina grumbled.  
"Listen. I'll give you one more chance, just this once," the opponent said grinning provocatively. "You and I will compete in the Miss Freedstone Frestival Competition! Take it or leave it is just up to you."  
"Okay, I'll take it!" Lumina strongly said pointing at the opponent.  
"Wow, Lumina, you said it!" Madison said with starry eyes of delight. "Just let me make you perfect outfits for the competition. I think I should think up of a good theme to enhance your attractiveness!"  
At that time, Lumina and Margaret were busy with exchanging provocative looks. It looked like a touch-and-go situation; they nearly started a scuffle perhaps if either of them said something to get on the other's nerve. Lumina's another series of exciting days was about to start.

**Fin.**

* * *

**Thanks to the readers...** I hope you readers enjoyed the fanfic. I composed this fic with comical cuts in a serious plot; in a comical cut Lumina played the clown as well. This fic includes the taste like a mystery novel; the elements prepared in the first half of the fic are all explained in the Chapter 8. In addition, I wrote the star Lumina Allison in the physics department as a genius in physics inspired by Dr. Lisa Randall at Harvard University. (I hope Dr. Randall wouldn't get mad reading this, though...) I'd love it if you found the fanfic so interesting that you like to read it repeatedly. Thank you.


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